
Book QrfU G 



DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE 

A. H. BALDWIN, Chief 



SPECIAL AGENTS SERIES— No. 74 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES 
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 

WITH NOTES ON THE GROWING AND MANUFACTURE 
OF JUTE IN INDIA 



By 



W. A. GRAHAM CLARK 

Commercial Agent of the Department of Commerce 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1913 



is. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE 

A. H. BALDWIN, Chief 



SPECIAL AGENTS SERIES— No. 74 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES 
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 

WITH NOTES ON THE GROWING AND MANUFACTURE 
OF JUTE IN INDIA 



By 



W. A. GRAHAM CLARK 

Commercial Agent of the Department of Commerce 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1913 



^ 



ov> 



D. OF D. 
JAM 10 1914 






~3 






CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Letter of submittal 5 

Introduction 7 

Linen industry in Ireland 14 

Irish linen mills 20 

Raw materials 25 

Processes of manufacture 30 

Spinning 30 

Hackling room 32 

Preparing room 36 

Spinning room 37 

Yarn department 44 

Weaving 44 

Weft and warp winding 45 

Dressing 45 

Weaving 46 

Bleaching and finishing 49 

Warehouse work 58 

Operatives and wages 61 

Cost of typical flax spinning and weaving mill 73 

Linen industry in Scotland . .» ....... 80 

Scottish linen mills . .' . . . '. 82 

Raw materials •. 84 

Processes of manufacture 85 

v Commercial quotations 88 

Details of Scottish flax goods 90 

Operatives and wages .* 92 

Jute industry in Scotland 93 

Raw materials 95 

Foreign trade 101 

Jute factories 105 

Processes of manufacture 107 

Batching room 107 

Preparing room 108 

Yarn preparation 112 

Weaving room 114 

Finishing room 116 

Jute-machinery makers 116 

Dundee public calenders 117 

Operatives and wages 126 

Cost of typical factory 131 

Commercial quotations 135 

Construction of various jute goods % 137 

Bag manufacture and trade 140 

Floorcloth manufacture and trade 141 

Jute substitutes 143 

3 



4 CONTENTS. 

Hemp industry in United Kingdom 145 

Jute industry in India 147 

World's consumption of jute 147 

Growing and marketing of jute 148 

Acreage and production 152 

Jute manufacture in India 155 

Operatives and wages ^ 160 

Export trade 168 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page. 

Fig. 1 . Roughing, the first operation in a flax mill 33 

2. Tow carding in a Belfast mill . . 33 

3. Flax spreading machine . 38 

4. Flax roving snd drawing machine . „ . . . „ 39 

5. Wet spinning frames for linen yarn . „ 41 

6. Linen weaving mill 47 

7. The world's largest bleach field . - . . 51 

8. Jute roving and spinning frames 113 

9. Shuttle used in jute weaving and weaver's reed hook, etc 114 

10. Jute weave shed , . . 115 



LETTER OF SUBMITTAL. 



Department of Commerce, 
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 

Washington, September 25, 1913. 

Sir : I have the honor to submit herewith a report by Commercial 
Agent W. A. Graham Clark on the linen, jute, and hemp industries 
of the United Kingdom, with supplementary data as to the growing 
and manufacture of jute in India. As linen manufacturing centers 
largely in Ireland and jute manufacturing in Scotland, special atten- 
tion is given to these industries in their respective fields. Detailed 
information is presented as to processes of manufacture, cost of pro- 
duction, wages and conditions of employment, cost of constructing 
and operating factories, commercial usages, and foreign trade. 
Respectfully, 

■ A. H. Baldavin, 

Chief of Bureau. 
To Hon. William C. Redfield, 

Secretary of Commerce. 

5 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES IN THE 

UNITED KINGDOM. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Flax, hemp, and jute are so-called bast fibers, which are found in 
the skin of the plant stems producing them and which are freed 
from the inner woody core and the surrounding pulp by retting. 
They differ in this from the hard fibers, such as abaca, henequen, 
sisal, aloe fiber, and New Zealand hemp, which are found in the 
leaves of the plants producing them, from which they can be sepa- 
rated only by scraping, or decortication. Being similar in their 
plant nature, flax, hemp, and jute are frequently^ grouped in sta- 
tistics, and their manufacture forms the third most important textile 
industry of theTTnited Kingdom, being exceeded by cotton and wool 
manufacturing and being followed by silk, which is a poor fourth. 
Flax is mainly a clothing material, jute is the premier wrapping and 
sacking material of the world, while hemp is primarily a cordage 
material. 

POSITION OF BRITISH TEXTILE INDUSTRIES. 

In the United Kingdom Manchester is the center of cotton manu- 
facturing, Bradford of wool, Belfast of linen and hemp, Dundee of 
jute, and Macclesfield of silk. From the beginning of the machine 
manufacture of cotton the English have led in this industry, and in 
spite of increasing competition they still have a great lead in spindles 
and looms and in value of output, though surpassed by the United 
States in the amount of raw material worked. Until the middle of 
the eighteenth century wool was England's foremost textile indus- 
try, and, though it has now been displaced by cotton, England still 
leads in the manufacture and export of woolen goods, with the United 
States and Germany yearly increasing their competition. In jute 
manufacture the United Kingdom led for a long while, but it is now 
greatly distanced by India and has taken second place. In flax 
manufacture the United Kingdom still maintains a great lead over 
all competitors, but in the manufacture of soft hemp it is dis- 
tanced by Russia. In silk the United Kingdom has not been very 
successful and the industry has declined greatly from its former 
position. Although flax and wool are produced on a commercial 
basis in the United Kingdom, the bulk of these raw materials is 
obtained from abroad, while the cotton, jute, hemp, silk, and lesser 
used fibers are obtained entirely from other countries. 

Flax, hemp, wool, and silk are ancient fibers, while cotton and 
jute are of very modern use in the world's markets. Cotton did not 
attain great importance until the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, 
while jute manufacture on a commercial scale may be said to have 
started at Dundee about 1838. To-day, however, cotton is the 

7 



8 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES, 



premier fiber of the world, and more pounds of jute are manufac- 
tured than of any other fiber except cotton. 

SOURCES OF RAW MATERIALS. 

Flax is the oldest of all vegetable fibers of which we have record 
as being applied to the use of mankind, and at the dawn of recorded 
history we find the Egyptians famous for its manufacture. To-day 
Ireland is most noted for its manufacture, and the linen require- 
ments of the land of the Pharaohs and of other lands beyond the 
seas are supplied mainly from Belfast. The center of the world's 
manufacture is the Province of Ulster, of which Belfast is the capital 
and chief city. Other important flax-manufacturing countries are 
France, Kussia, Germany, and Belgium, but the United Kingdom 
contains about a third of the flax spindles of the world, of which 
the total may be estimated at something over 3,000,000. The York 
Street Flax Spinning Co. (Ltd.), of Belfast, who have some 63,000 
spindles and 1,000 looms, and who are spinners, weavers, merchants, 
and bleachers, claim to be the' world's largest flax-manufacturing 
concern. The bulk of the world's flax supply is raised in Eussia, 
while smaller quantities are produced in Austria-Hungary, Italy, 
Germany, France, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands. 

Hemp is raised to some extent in China, Japan, India, and other 
sections, but it is typically a European product. Eussia produces 
the bulk of the soft hemp, substantial amounts also being raised 
in Italy, Austria, and France. Soft hemp is manufactured mainly in 
ropeworks, which also use the hard fibers, so that it is difficult to 
obtain world statistics that can be considered accurate. The Belfast 
Eopeworks Co. (Ltd.), of Belfast, claims to be the largest concern 
engaged in its manufacture. 

Jute is almost a monopoly of the northeast section of India and is 
the world's cheapest fiber. The center of manufacture is around 
Calcutta, in the Province of Bengal, but Dundee leads in the pro- 
duction of the higher-grade articles. 

OPERATIVES IN BRITISH TEXTILE TRADES. 

The operatives employed in the various textile industries of the 
United Kingdom, according to Board of Trade figures, were as 
follows in 1907, the latest year for which statistics are available : 



Industries. 



Cotton 

Wool and shoddy 

Flax 

Hosiery 

Jute 

Silk 

Lace 

Hemp 

Other textiles 

Total 



Male. 



Number. Per cent 



217, 742 

108,838 

29, 756 

9,609 

12, 366 

8,776 

12, 843 

3,788 

3,642 



407, 360 



37.75 
41.67 
29. 62 
24.04 
31.08 
30.40 
61.08 
34.81 
44.42 



Female. 



Number. Per cent 



359,078 

152, 354 

70,719 

30, 362 

27, 419 

20, 097 

8, 181 

7,095 

4,558 



37.47 



679,863 



62.25 
58.33 
70.38 
75.96 
68.92 
69.60 
38.92 
65.19 
55.58 



62.53 



Total. 



576,820 

261, 192 

100, 475 

39, 971 

39, 785 

28,873 

21, 024 

10,883 

8,200 



1,087,223 



INTRODUCTION. 



9 



Next to the hosiery trade, the flax, silk, jute, and hemp trades con- 
tained the largest percentage of female labor. 

YARN PRODUCTION AND TRADE IN 19 7. 

As the 1907 census of production was the first taken in the United 
Kingdom and the final results were largely the result of estimates to 
avoid duplications, etc., the figures obtained are more valuable as an 
indication than as an accurate enumeration. They serve, however, to 
throw considerable light on the status of the various industries. In 
the figures finally published, the bast fiber industries — those utilizing 
flax, hemp, and jute — are grouped more or less. 

The net output per operative was found to be £61 ($297) per year 
for the flax, hemp, and jute industries as a whole, and £75 ($365) for 
the rope, twine, and net trades. This compares with an output per 
operative per year of £79 ($384) for the cotton industry and of £70 
($340) for the wool industry. 

The total production of yarn in the jute, hemp, and linen industries 
of the United Kingdom, including both that woven and that sold, the 
total exports, and the total net imports (imports less reexports) were 
as follows in 1907 : 



Yarns. 


Production. 


Exports. 


Net imports. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Jute 


485,000,000 

155, 000, 000 

65,000,000 


$31,632,250 

38,771,406 

7,299,750 


67,519,000 

16,442,000 

0) 


$5,995,530 

6,049,060 

0) 


5,954,000 
20, 647, 000 
10, 140, 000 


$502, 150 


Linen 


3,825,070 


Hemp 


973, 300 










i Not state 


;d. 









Less than one-seventh of the quantity of jute yarns manufactured 
in the United Kingdom was exported in the form of yarn, and less 
than one-ninth of the linen yarns. 

PIECE-GOODS PRODUCTION AND TRADE. 



The British production, exports, and Bet imports of piece goods 
in 1907 were as follows, the figures including both pure and mixed 



goods : 



Articles. 


Production. 


Exports. 


Net 


Yards. 


Value. 


Yards. 


Value. 


imports. 


Jute 


f 229, 203, 000 
\ 132,061,000 
(2 130, 368, 000 

269,268,000 
70, 521, 000 
23, 409, 000 


L $28,337,630 

3 30,483,756 

3 12, 463, 107 

3 5, 703, 538 


179,377,000 

166,365,000 

14,264,000 

4, 370, 000 


$13,378,008 

23, 524, 661 
2,267,789 
1, 104, 696 


$3,820,203 
l 3,815,336 


Linen: 

Plain 

Checked, printed, etc 

Sailcloth and canvas 



1 Square yards. 

2 Pounds. 

3 The sum of $1,970,933, the value added by bleaching, etc., should be divided between 
these items ; piece goods valued at about $2.S22,570, made into articles of clothing, etc., 
by weaving firms, are also excluded. 



10 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

About half of the quantity of jute piece goods was exported in the 
cloth. Of the three classes of linen piece goods, about 62 per cent of 
the plain, bleached, and unbleached piece goods was exported and 
about 20 per cent of the checked, printed, dyed, damask, and diaper 
piece goods, the figures in both cases being exclusive of the piece 
goods made into articles of clothing, etc,, by weaving firms. About 
19 per cent of the sailcloth and canvas was exported. 

ESTIMATE OF TOTAL PRODUCTION. 

As a considerable quantity of yarn made by spinners and sold to 
weavers was included by both classes of manufacturers in their out- 
put, once as yarn and again as piece goods, and, further, as the exact 
quantity of yarn sold to rope and net makers was not known, it was 
not possible to state precisely the value of the jute, hemp, and linen 
production as a whole. The census estimated, however, on the basis 
of the following particulars for 1907 : 

Value. 

Jute yarn exported $5,995,530 

Linen yarn exported 6.049,060 

Jute piece goods made 28,337,630 

Linen piece goods made 53,443,903 

Cordage, rope, twine, etc., made (including hemp yarn spun in 

Ireland) 7, 372, 748 

Other goods of jute, linen, and hemp made, including waste and flax 

and tow dressed : 3, 572, 011 

Value added by making up linen goods 3, 163, 225 

After making allowance for the value of the linen thread and yarn 
not sold to weaving firms, etc., the total value of the output of the 
jute, hemp, and linen spinning, doubling, and weaving trades (in- 
cluding goods as bleached, dyed, etc.) was given as approximately 
£24,000,000 ($116,796,000), exclusive of work done by rope and net 
makers. If the cordage made in the regular jute, hemp, and linen 
trades be excluded and its value taken only as that of yarns, the value 
of the output of the spinning and weaving branches of these trades, 
together with the value of goods made up in weaving factories, mav 
be estimated as approximately £23,000,000 ($111,929,500). 

The $111,929,500 represents the value of the output of the British 
jute, hemp, and linen industries in 1907, but in addition there were 
products from rope, twine, and net factories to the value of 
$17,947,652. The total value of rope, twine, and net in the United 
Kingdom was $25,344,700, if there be included $7,397,048 that repre- 
sents the value of such goods made by factories whose main business 
is along other lines. In quantity, the total output was 236,656,000 
pounds. 

The excess of the value of the gross output over the cost of the ma- 
terials and of some work done by outside firms — that is, the value 
added to the material by reason of the work done in manufacturing — 
amounted in the jute, hemp, and linen trades, in 1907, to $46,018,158, 
and in the rope, twine, and net trades to $5,216,888. In each case 
these figures represent the amount spent during the year for labor 
and general factory expenses, plus the profit. 



INTRODUCTION. 



11 



TRADE IN RAW MATERIALS. 



In considering the present status of the bast fiber industry in the 
United Kingdom it is of interest to ascertain the amount of raw ma- 
terials they use as compared with other British textile industries. 
The imports and exports of raw materials for the calendar year 1912 
given below are from British statistics. These statistics list rags, tow, 
waste, silk, etc., under the head of raw materials, and though cotton 
waste is given under articles partly or wholly manufactured, ] have 



included it here as a raw material, which it is, 
waste silk. 



as much as rags or 



Articles. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Raw cotton : . . . 


2, 805, 817, 800 
40, 065, 608 


$390, 482, 899 
2, 628, 898 


323,802,100 
102, 938, 163 


$51,522,122 


Cotton waste 


6, 923, 900 






Total 


2,845,883,408 


393, 111, 797 


426, 740, 263 


58, 446, 022 






Sheep's wool 


806, 855, 687 

3, 639, 175 

8, 417, 493 

35,731,188 

2,901,798 

111,699,840 


161,738,200 

860, 407 

1,711,675 

8, 319, 228 

200, 918 

4,710,811 


384, 809, 529 

266, 475 

1,865,621 

1,005,774 

13,556,749 

8,630,720 

19, 567, 500 

12,211,909 


81,301,808 


Alpaca, etc 


71,854 


Camel's hair 


345, 667 


Mohair 


318,503 


Rags, pulled 


1, 920, 009 


Rags, unpulled 


970, 239 


Wool noils, etc 


5, 955, 365 


Wool waste 


2, 929, 630 


416, 047 


3, 181, 533 






Total 


972,174,811 


177, 957, 286 


441,914,277 


92, 064, 978 




Flax 


195, 054, 720 
42, 228, 480 

323,946,560 
12, 662, 720 

862,364,160 
13, 478, 080 


21,162,438 

2, 648, 101 

17, 980, 126 

520, 808 
40,597,175 

461, 991 


19, 747, 840 

931, 840 

120,711,360 

777, 280 

314, 487, 040 

3,295,040 


2,707,910 
68,185 


Flax tow 


Hemp 


6,336,864 

34,786 

14, 953, 523 

141,104 


Hemp tow 


Jute 


Similar fibers 






Total 


1,449,734,720 


83,370,639 


459, 950, 400 


24, 242, 372 




Raw silk 


1,199,448 
8, 524, 992 


3,354,736 
3, 684, 948 


130, 821 
2,096,304 


353,444 


Silk waste and noils 


611,223 






Total 


9, 724, 440 


7,039,684 


2, 227, 125 


964, 667 




Grand total 


5, 277, 517, 379 


661,479,406 


1,330,832,065 


175, 718, 039 





The net imports of raw materials (that is, the imports less the 
exports) for 1912, by grand classes, were as follows: Cotton, 2.419,- 
143,145 pounds, valued at $334,665,775; wool and hair, 530.260,534 
pounds, valued at $84,892,308; flax, hemp, and jute, 989,784,320 
pounds, valued at $59,128,267; silk, 7,497,315 pounds, valued at 
$6,075,017; total, 3,946,685,314 pounds, valued at $484,761,367. 

The flax, hemp, and jute industries rank second in quantity of 
materials used and third in value. The value of the textile mate- 
rials imported into the United Kingdom in 1912, not considering rags, 
waste, tow, etc., was for silk, $2,797 a pound; sheep's wool, 20.046 
cents; raw cotton, 13.917 cents; flax, 10.85 cents; hemp, 5.55 cents; 
and jute, 4.708 cents. Jute was the cheapest fiber imported and silk 
the dearest. Raw cotton averaged higher in value than flax* 



12 LIKEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

WAGES AND COMPARATIVE COST OF PRODUCTION. 

The linen industry pays poorer wages than any other textile in- 
dustry of the United Kingdom. The latest figures available are 
those for 1906, which showed that full-time workers in the cotton 
industry averaged 19s. 7d. ($4.77) a week; in the woolen and worsted 
industry 15s. 9d. ($3.83) ; in the jute industry, 14s. 3d. ($3.47), and in 
the flax industry only 12s. ($2.92). It is estimated that the average 
wages in the linen industry have advanced by about 6d. (12 cents) 
since that time, but even this average wage of $3.04 a week still leaves 
the linen workers the lowest paid of all British textile operatives. 

Flax is as cheap as or cheaper than cotton, wages in the linen indus- 
try average less than two-thirds of those paid in the cotton industry, 
and yet finished goods made from flax average much higher in price 
than finished cotton goods. Manufacturers state that this is due to 
the fact that flax is a much more difficult fiber to manufacture than 
cotton, that it takes many more operatives and a much longer time 
to obtain the same output, that the first cost per spindle or per loom is 
much greater, and that bleaching and dyeing, owing to the hard and 
impermeable nature of the flax fiber, are much more elaborate and 
costly operations. 

Cotton is linen's most formidable competitor, and its growing 
production and the increasing skill with which it is manufactured 
(making it in many cases difficult to distinguish it from linen) tend 
to prevent expansion in the manufacture of the older and more 
durable fabric. Owing to the great development of machinery in the 
cotton industry, cotton, though one of the shortest of fibers, is the 
most easily manufactured. A cotton mill using mule spindles can 
be erected and completely equipped in the United Kingdom for 
about 27s. 6d. ($6.69) per spindle, and a cotton ring-spinning mill 
complete for about 32s. 6d. ($7.91), whereas a flax-spinning mill 
using flyer spinning would cost about £7 ($34.07) per spindle. A 
flax-spinning mill requires three times as many operatives as a cotton- 
spinning mill of the same size, yet has a smaller production. A 
cotton weave shed for medium-grade cotton goods can be erected 
and equipped in the United Kingdom complete for about £36 
($175.19) per loom, whereas a linen weave shed making medium- 
grade linens costs about £45 ($218.99) per loom. 

The difference in the first cost of spinning mills for the two indus- 
tries is much greater than in the first cost of ordinary weave sheds, 
for in preparing and spinning flax the hard, slippery, and inelastic 
nature of the fiber necessitates much more expensive machinery. The 
great variations in the flax fibers, even in those from the same field, 
require elaborate and costly hackling and sorting, in which about 50 
per cent of the fiber becomes tow of comparatively low value, raising 
the cost of dressed flax fully 50 per cent above that of new flax. 
Cotton, on the other hand, is very uniform in quality and is cheaply 
carded with much less loss in weight. The turn-off of a cotton spindle 
is much greater than that of a flax spindle and much larger bobbins 
or quills are permissible, which makes succeeding operations cost less. 
Cotton is more elastic than flax, hence more easily woven, and looms 
can be operated at a higher speed. In bleaching, cotton is finished 
more quickly and with less loss of weight and less risk of damage. 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

Cotton cloth can be bleached in a day or two, while linen takes about 
three weeks, and even longer. Flax fiber is able to withstand such 
formidable competition only by reason of its inherent beauty, 
strength, and durability, which enable it to endure repeated handling 
and washings with less loss of its sheen and hard surface and with- 
out napping. 

SCOPE OF REPORT. 

In the pages following the methods of manufacture and the pres- 
ent status of the fine linen trade of Ireland and the coarse linen trade 
of Scotland are discussed. Little reference is made to the English 
linen trade, as it is now a very small proportion of the total and as 
the trade of Barnsley in Yorkshire, the only surviving English cen- 
ter of any importance, is the manufacture of coarse goods similar to 
those made in Scotland. The study of the jute trade practically con- 
fines itself to the study of Dundee, as only a small amount is manu- 
factured elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The hemp industry is 
not so localized and the ropeworks are scattered, most of them being 
located at the seaports of the three countries. 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 

Irish linens are world-renoAvned, and in the manufacture of flax 
into linens Ireland leads all countries in both quality and quantity. 
The industry centers in the Province of Ulster, in North Ireland, 
and Ulster and its capital, Belfast, hold the same position in the 
world's linen trade as Lancashire and Manchester do in the cotton 
trade. Of some 3,000,000 spindles in the world working on flax, Ire- 
land contains nearly a third. 

Flax manufacturing, the staple industry of Ireland to-day, is its 
only surviving textile industry of importance. An extensive silk- 
weaving trade, founded by the Huguenots, existed at one time, but it 
suffered so much from strikes at home and increasing competition 
abroad that it has now almost disappeared. A large and flourishing 
woolen industry formerly existed in the south of Ireland, but its com- 
petition was so troublesome to the English trade that Parliament was 
induced to curtail its growth by heavy duties on the exportation of 
Irish woolens, and it was practically wiped out. As compensation, 
opportunities were afforded the Irish to prosecute their flax industry 
and bounties were voted for propagating and improving the manu- 
facture of linen. This governmental assistance, which was given 
mainly in the form of bounty to exporters, was continued from 1711 
to 1827, and amounted at times to over $100,000 a year. 

EARLY DAYS OF INDUSTRY. 

The manufacture of linen by hand seems to have flourished at a 
very early period in Ulster, and the cultivation of flax is thought to 
have been introduced by the Norman settlers who occupied Ireland 
in the thirteenth century. The cloth produced was coarse and very 
narrow, and it was -not until the advent of the Huguenot refugees of 
1685, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and their introduc- 
tion of the spinning wheel and other improved methods, that the 
industry began to be of* importance. In 1720 Ireland exported 
240,000"vards of linen, valued at about £100.000 ($487,000) ; by 1800 
exports had grown to 25,041,517 yards, and by 1821 to 43.507,928 
yards. All of this was both spun and woven by hand. 

Flax-spinning machinery was invented in 1787 by John Kendrew 
and Thomas Porthouse, at Darlington, England. The first frames 
were driven by water power, but the newly discovered steam power 
was shortly afterward utilized. England and Scotland were not 
slow to take advantage of the new and improved method of spinning, 
but it was not until some 40 years afterwards, in 1828, that the first 
steam-driven flax-spinning mill in Ireland was *erected at Belfast. 
The first spinning machinery invented by the English had been on 
the dry-spinning principle suitable only for coarse yarns, and it was 
not until superior yarns, made on the wet-spinning principle discov- 
14 



LINEN" INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 15 

ered in 1825, began to come into Ireland and displace hand-spun 
yarns that the Irish found it necessary to adopt machine manu- 
facture. 

The first mill started in Ireland used wet spinning, and this system 
is almost universal in Ireland to-day. The Irish started power manu- 
facture late, but as they profited by the earlier trials of their com- 
petitors the industry grew more rapidly. In the years of the great 
potato famine there was much emigration and this and the panic of 
1847 affected the industry adversely, but about 1850 the industry 
again began to grow rapidly. All this time weaving had been done 
on hand looms and although power weaving started with 88 looms 
in 1850, it was many years before power looms outnumbered hand 
looms, and there are many of the latter running to this day. 

EFFECT OF AMERICAN dVIL WAR. 

The American Civil War, which caused the world to turn to flax 
and other fibers as a substitute for cotton, led to an enormous expan- 
sion of the linen trade, and in the linen, as well as in the jute and wool 
industries, the figures reached during that period still mark the high 
tide of British exports. For instance, in 1864 the export of British- 
made linen yarn was 40,177,150 pounds, valued at $14,560,417, while 
in 1912 it was only 16,671,100 pounds, valued at $6,173,102. For 
fabrics the record year was 1866 when the value of the exports of 
linen manufactures of all kinds (except yarns) from the United 
Kingdom reached $46,602,796, which compares with $40,955,943 for 
1912. Not only in value but in weight and yardage the war-period 
figures still hold the record. For instance, in piece linens 213,139,700 
yards were exported in 1912, in contrast with the 255,632,385 yards 
shipped in 1866. 

TREND OF INDUSTRY IN RECENT YEARS. 

After the flush period caused by the American Civil War and the 
Franco-Prussian War there ' followed a prolonged period of depres- 
sion, and the history of the trade since has been rather a checkered one. 
The number of Irish flax spindles, for instance, climbed from 250.000 
in 1841 and 326,000 in 1850 to 924,817 in 1875, dropped to 827,451 in 
1890. rose to 869,056 in 1897, dropped to 830,934 in 1903, and in- 
creased to 945,962 in 1911 and 951,362 in 1912. Since 1875, 17 mills 
containing 175,603 spindles have been dismantled, and it was not 
until 1909 that the industry once again counted as many flax spindles 
as it had in 1875. The new spindles installed in the~ last 30 years 
are for spinning fine counts and replaced coarse spindles, the produc- 
tion of which became unprofitable owing to the imports of coarse 
yarns from Belgium. These fine spindles run at a slower speed and 
the output in yards or in pounds of the spindles added since 1876 is 
less than that of the somewhat smaller number of coarse spindles 
discarded. 

There have been periods of acute depression but also periods of 
equally acute booms. The greatest boom since Civil War times 
started in the early part of 1905 and lasted until the latter part of 
1907. During this period Irish spinners made enormous profits. One 



16 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



yarn spinner in speaking of this boom said that in 1907 on a capitali- 
zation of £6.0,000 he had cleared £40,000. The demand was such that 
he was overwhelmed with orders and buyers were not discouraged even 
Avhen he asked at hat he regarded as prohibitive prices. The weavers 
also made great profits for two years, but prices were then forced up 
too high for buyers in outside markets and the final result was a 
period of short time for both spinning and weaving. This move- 
ment cleared off all accumulations of stock and placed the trade upon 
a thoroughly sound and independent basis, and at the present time 
the Irish linen trade seems to be making good profits. 

CONDITION OF INDUSTRY AS REVEALED BY PRICES. 

The disturbances to which flax spinning has been exposed are re- 
flected more or less in the prices, which can be illustrated by quoting 
the price at Belfast (per bundle of 60,000 yards) of one standard 
number of line and of tow varns at various dates : 



Dates. 



December, 1860. 
August, 1864... 
December, 1865. 
December, 1868. 
September, 1870 
December, 1870. 
December, 1871 . 
December, 1875. 
December, 1880. 
December, 1885. 
December, 1890. 
December, 1894. 
December, 1895. 
December, 1897. 
December, 1900. 
December, 1905 . 
December, 1910. 
December, 1911 . 
December, 1912. 



80s line weft. 



English 
currency. 



s. d. 

4 3 

6 7| 

6 U 



3 
6 

li 

6 
4i 

n 

10J 

10J 

6 
9 
6 
10* 



American 
currency. 



$1. 034 

1.612 

1.49 

1.278 

.821 

.852 

1.247 

1.095 

.973 

.821 

.882 

.699 

.73 

.699 

.973 

1.095 

1.156 

1.095 

1.186 



25s tow weft. 



English 
currency. 



s. d. 

6 3 

10 4| 



10* 

9 

9 

9 

9 

6 

n 

% 

9 

3 

3 

3 

lOi 
1* 



American 
currency. 



$1,521 
2.524 
1.947 
1.673 
1.399 
1.399" 
1.643 
1.643 
1.338 
1.247 
1.085 
1.064 
1.156 
1.034 
1.278 
1.521 
1.46 
1.429 
1.734 



The first three quotations show the fluctuations from the beginning 
to the close of the Civil War. The quotation for September, 1870, 
marked the opening of the Franco-Prussian War, and that for De- 
cember, 1871, the market after the war. The quotations for 1894, 
1895, and 1897 show the severe depression existing during those years. 



ADVANTAGES ENJOYED BY IRELAND. 

In England and" Scotland the linen industry has gradually declined, 
now being almost extinct in the former country. In Ireland the in- 
dustry, in spite of many ups and downs, has increased, at least in 
weaving and finishing, to an extent that more than compensates for 
the decrease in the other two countries, The Irish manufacture of 
linen bv hand was for a long time fostered with public money, and 
when this was withdrawn the industry promptly adopted the im- 
proved machinery and methods laboriously worked out by rivals. In 



LINEN" INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



17 



both England and Scotland the flax manufacturers have had to meet 
the competition offered by the rapid increase of other textile indus- 
tries, which not only drew away operatives by higher wages but also 
in many cases took the manufacturers themselves ; in fact, at Dundee 
most of the flax manufacturers have become jute manufacturers. 

In Ireland flax manufacturing is practically the only textile indus- 
try, and as other industries, such as shipbuilding, require principally 
men, the flax mills have scarcely any competition as regards labor, 
most of which is female. The Irish linen industry can obtain labor 
at a lower average cost than any other British textile industry, not 
even excepting the jute industry of Dundee. The Irish industry is 
also greatly favored by the climate. Ireland is noted for its rain and 
fog, and the climate is equable and mild practically the year round. 
Flax is a rather difficult fiber to work, and Irish weather is an advan- 
tage, especially in the manufacture of fine yarns; but that a moist 
climate is not an absolute necessity for ordinary counts is shown by 
the success of mills on the Continent, where the climate is not differ- 
ent from that in the United States. The Irish excel in bleaching, and 
though they are now close pushed by competition from some modern 
French bleaching greens. Ireland has the advantage of a moist and 
equable climate that permits " grassing " operations through practi- 
cally the whole year. Favorable climatic conditions and cheap, un- 
organized labor are the two chief factors that have led to the concen- 
tration of the British linen industry in the north of Ireland. 



INCREASE IN WEAVING CAPACITY OF MILLS. 

Since the flush times of the war period there has been a steady, if 
slow, increase in the weaving capacity of the mills, while the spinning 
capacity has fluctuated greatly, and in 1912 was not much larger than 
in 1875. In 1876 there were 924,817 spindles and 20,152 looms, while 
in 1912 there were 951,362 spindles and 36,942 looms. The failure of 
spinning to keep pace with weaving has led to increased imports of 
foreign yarns; or> to put it more correctly, the pressure of cheaper 
foreign yarns has retarded the development of Irish spinning. 

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF YARN. 

Though fluctuating greatly from year to year, there seems to be 
little increase in the export of linen yarns, while there is a growing 
import of foreign yarns. In 1880 exports were 16,477,500 pounds 
and imports 5,958,731 pounds, but in 1888 the imports overtook the 
exports and have increased until in 1912 the United Kingdom im- 
ported twice as many pounds of linen yarn as it exported. The fig- 
ures for recent vears are as follows : 





Imports. 


Exports. 




Pounds. 


Value. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


1900 


25, 479, 150 
21, 787, 642 
28,801,612 
28, 976, 012 
39,474,701 


$4, 454, 994 
3,740,823 
5, 117, 169 
5,331,981 
7,822,339 


16, 347, 100 
14, 694, 300 
18, 548, 900 
18,012,800 
17,685,800 


$4,546,289 
4,514,248 
5,824,947 
5, 938, 634 


1905 


1910 


1911 


1912 


6, 175, 788 







13002°— No. 74—13- 



18 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



The linen yarns exported are mainly the finer and therefore higher- 
priced counts, while the imports are chiefly the coarser counts that 
Belgium and some other sections of the Continent can make more 
cheaply than the Irish. For 1912 the value of the yarns exported 
averaged 34.919 cents a pound, and of those imported 19.816 cents. 

Of the 28,801,612 pounds of linen yarn imported into the United 
Kingdom in 1910, 11,130,745 pounds entered at the Irish port of 
Belfast, 11,260,918 pounds at the Scottish port of Leith, and 3,984,144 
pounds at the English port of Goole, the small remainder coining in 
at other points. In proportion to its looms Scotland has few spindles, 
and imports about as much foreign yarn as Ireland; in addition it 
uses some Irish yarn. 

Of the linen yarn imported into the United Kingdom over half 
is supplied by Belgium, with substantial amounts from France and 
smaller amounts from Germany, Russia, and other countries. The 
yarn exports are taken in largest quantity by Germany, which is 
followed by the United States and Belgium, and then the Nether- 
lands, Egypt, Spain, and Portugal. British-made linen yarn shipped 
to the United States in the calendar vears 1910, 1911, and 1912 
amounted to 2,149,800, 2,271,200, and 2,506.500 pounds, respectivelv, 
with corresponding valuations of $562,645, $614,853, and $624,815. 

In 1912 the amount of linen yarn shipped from the United King- 
dom was almost the same as in 1840, in which* year there were ex- 
ported 17,733,575 pounds, valued at $4,004,526, while in 1912 the ex- 
ports were 17,685.800 pounds, valued at $6,175,788. While the 
amount is practically the same, the value in 1912 was over 50 per cent 
greater. The average value of the linen yarn exported in 1840 was 
22.582 cents a pound as compared with 34.919 cents in 1912. 

EXPORT TRADE IN THREAD, PIECE GOODS, AND OTHER MANUFACTURES. 

Aside from yarn, the exports are divided into piece linens, thread, 
and linen goods unenumerated. Of the piece linens exported in 1912, 
191,910,600 yards, valued at $26,213,038, were classed as plain, un- 
bleached, and bleached; 17,179,300 yards, valued at $2,443,961, as 
checked, printed, or dyed, and damask, and diaper; and 3,995,500 
yards, valued at $1,128,541, as sailcloth. The great bulk of the ex- 
ports is plain linen, mainly bleached. The exports of piece linens 
and also of linen goods unenumerated (mainly made-up articles, es- 
pecially embroidered goods) seem to be on the increase, but though 
thread exports have recovered from the slump experienced about 
1900 there does not seem to be much prospect of any increase in this 
line. The exports in recent years have been as follows : 



Years. 


I 
Piece linens. Linen thread. 


Unenu- 
merated 
manufac- 
tures. 


Total 


Yards. 


Value. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


factures. 


1900 


154, 708, 200 
183, 445, 900 
220, 568, 000 
193,829,200 
213,085,400 


$18,723,884 
23,562,955 
29, 760, 662 
27,456,005 
29, 785, 540 


1,838,100 
2,261,900 
2, 738, 900 
2, 597, 400 
2,667,300 


$1,154,110 
1,276,950 
1,665,355 
1,652,396 
1,673,044 


$5, 527, 492 
6, 019, 622 
8,871,980 
9,053,072 
9,501,968 


$25,405,486 


1905 


30,859,527 


1910.... 


40,297,997 


1911 


38, 161, 473 


1912 


40, 960, 552 











LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 19 

Including varn previously listed, the exports of linen manufactures 
amounted in 1912 to a grand total of $47,136,340. 

British linen manufacturers find their best market in the United 
States, and of their total export the United States regularly takes as 
much as all other countries combined. Of the total exports of linen 
manufactures in 1895 the United States took 53.4 per cent ; in 1900, 
48.7 per cent ; 1905, 50.9 per cent ; 1910, 51 per cent. It is remarkable 
how closely, for a long period, the United States has come to taking 
exactly half of the total linen exports, no matter how these fluctuated. 

The United States is always the best customer for piece linens, and 
of the $29,785,540 exported in 1912 took $15,626,015, or 52.46 per cent. 
The United States takes very little sailcloth, the best markets for this 
article being found in Australasia. India, and Germany. Of the 
checked, printed, dyed, damask, and diaper, the United States takes 
from one-fourth to one-third, and is followed by Australasia, Cuba, 
Brazil, Canada, and Argentina; but of the plain bleached and 
unbleached linens the United States takes nearly two-thirds, much 
smaller amounts being purchased by Canada, Australasia, Cuba. 
Argentina, India, Germany, Brazil, Egypt, and Japan. 

The best market for linen thread is found in Australasia, with the 
United States second, other good customers being Germany, Canada, 
France, Sweden, and Norway. Of the embroidered and made-up 
goods, etc., classed as unenumerated, the United States is by far the 
best customer, taking over half; other buyers are Canada, Austral- 
asia, South Africa, Switzerland, and Argentina. 

It is interesting to note that while British cotton manufacturers 
look to the East for their customers, selling most largely in India and 
China, flax manufacturers look to the West, for with the exception of 
a diminishing amount shipped to Europe, the linen exports go west, 
and the United States alone takes half the total. 

The United States is such an important factor that the prosperity 
of the Irish industry largely depends upon the fluctuations of the 
American demand; a money crisis in the United States, a panic, a 
boom, a change in the linen tariff, promptly results in an increase or 
a decrease in the output of the linen looms of the Emerald Isle. 

IMPORTS OF LINEN GOODS. 

The year 1912 was an exceedingly prosperous one for the trade, and 
the exports of British linens continue to increase. However, in some 
lines they are beginning to find increasing competition at home, par- 
ticularly with cheap goods from Belgium. The imports into the 
United Kingdom of foreign-made manufactures of linen — excluding 
linen yarn previously noted — in recent vears have been as follows: 
1895. $1,740,221; 1900, $2,678,317; 1905. $3,658,309; 1910, $4,421,040; 
1911, $4,447,115 ; 1912, $5,074,679. These figures are for net imports— 
that is, imports less reexports — and they show a rapidly increasing 
import. Half of the total imports of linen manufactures come from 
Belgium, and over a fourth from Germany, with smaller amounts 
from France, Russia, and other countries. By value, about half of the 
imported manufactures are classed as piece linens and about half as 
unenumerated made-up articles. The import of piece linens came 
to 12,759,999 yards in 1911 and 14,924,172 yards in 1912. 



20 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



According to testimony before the British Tariff Commission of 
1905 British shopkeepers seem to think that linen is a luxury and 
therefore take much higher profits than they do on cotton. Linen 
costing 4d. to 6d. (8 to. 12 cents) a yard was sold across the counter 
for 18d. (36 cents), etc., and manufacturers claimed this tended to 
retard the demand for real linens. Various cotton cloths, it was 
stated, were largely sold as linens, as it is difficult, before the goods 
are washed, for an inexperienced buyer to know the difference. 

It is against the law for an article to be misdescribed, such as cotton 
being marked as linen, or foreign linen being marked as Irish linen. 
In this connection it may be stated that the industrial movement 
started in Ireland a few years ago has produced the first national 
trade-mark ever registered, and that the Irish Industrial Association, 
and in particular the affiliated Belfast Industrial Development Asso- 
ciation, works actively to safeguard Irish produce against fraud and 
imitation. In both Ireland and Great Britain they have recently 
worked up evidence for successful Government prosecutions against 
those selling cotton as linen, and foreign linen as " Irish linen." 

IRISH LINEN MILLS. 

According to figures compiled by the Flax Supply Association of 
Belfast, the status of the machine manufacture of flax in Ireland has 
been as follows: 



Years. 


Spinning 
spindles. 


Doubling 
spindles. 


Power 
looms. 


Years. 


Spinning 
spindles. 


Doubling 
spindles. 


Power 
looms. 


1841 


250,000 
326,008 
567, 980 
650, 774 
866,482 
924,817 
883,075 






1885 


873,910 

827, 451 
849,410 
846, 934 
851,388 
945,962 
945,962 


20, 372 
26,544 
24,301 
24,840 
20,328 
19, 120 
19, 120 


24,300 
26, 592 
28, 764 
32,245 
34, 498 


1850 




88 

1,871 

8,187 

14,834 

20, 152 

21, 177 


1890 


1856 




1895 


1864 


14,648 
20, 178 
18, 192 
15,943 


1900 


1871 


li)05 


1875 


1910 


36,892 
36,942 


1880 


1911 







The enumeration made by the association in 1912 is not yet pub- 
lished, but the secretary states it Avill show an increase of about 5,400 
spindles, making the total 951,362, with the looms unchanged. 



CHIEF MANUFACTURING DISTRICTS. 

With the exception of a very few mills located at Cork, Drogheda-, 
Dundalk, and Dublin the industry is confined to the Province of 
Ulster. Ireland is divided into four Provinces — Ulster, Leinster, 
Connaught, and Munster — and these into counties. Of the nine 
counties of Ulster, the flax-manufacturing plants lie mainly in An- 
trim, Armagh, Down, and Tyrone. In 1911 Antrim, with 478,603 
inhabitants, was the most populous county of Ireland, followed by 
Dublin, with 476,909, and Down, with 304,589. 

Belfast, the capital of Ulster, is much the largest center for spin- 
ning, weaving, and making up linen goods, and practically all the 
imports and exports are handled there. Belfast is the commercial 
and industrial capital of Ireland as well as its largest citv. It had 
349,180 inhabitants in 1901 and 386,947 in 1911, an increase of 10.82 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 21 

per cent in 10 years. Of the inhabitants in 1911, 205,679 were fe- 
males and only 181,268 males. Belfast is noted for shipbuilding 
and other enterprises as well as flax manufacture, but the linen mills 
require so many women and girls that, with the greater emigration 
of men, the census figures always record an excess of females. 

Outside- of Belfast the chief weaving centers seem to be Lurgan, 
Portadown, Ballymena, Armagh, and Cookstown, with spinning mills 
at Killyleigh, Whitehouse, Ballymena, etc., and thread works at Lis- 
burn, Dunmurry, and Banbridge. Most of the bleaching greens are 
in the country districts of Antrim and Armagh Counties. 

DIVISIONS OF INDUSTRY. 

Of 43 linen manufacturing firms in Belfast in 1913, 11 had spindles 
only, 24 had looms only, while only 8 had both spindles and looms. 
In 1871, of 14,834 looms in Ireland 6,579 were attached to spinning 
mills and 8,255 were in separate plants; in 1885, of 24,300 looms, 
11,103 were attached to spinning mills and 13,197 were in separate 
plants; while in 1911, of 36,942 looms, only 8,693 were attached to 
spinning mills and 28,249 were in separate plants. The tendency to 
separate spinning and weaving is due. partly to the advance of spe- 
cialization and the greater care necessary in each branch, and partly 
to the fact that the increasing variety of goods now required of a 
linen weave mill necessitates such a variety of yarns that it is more 
convenient to buy than to spin them. 

The linen industry, however, is not yet divided into what has been 
called the water-tight compartments of spinning, weaving, bleaching, 
and distributing, as is the case in the Lancashire cotton industry. 
The three largest plants — the York Street Flax Spinning Co. (Ltd.), 
William Ewart & Sons (Ltd.), and the Brookfield Linen Co. (Ltd.) — 
are flax spinners, linen manufacturers, and bleachers, as well as mer- 
chants employing traveling men in foreign countries and carrying 
stocks of goods at their branch houses in New York, Paris, Berlin, 
etc. These three firms do everything from buying the flax to putting 
the goods into the hands of the foreign importer without intermedi- 
aries, and in their shipping departments one sees cases of packed and 
ticketed goods being marked for importers in every country in the 
world. 

PRINCIPAL LINEN MANUFACTURERS. 

The York Street Flax Spinning Co. (Ltd.) claims to be the largest 
linen-producing company in the world. The York Street and York 
Road mills of this concern at Belfast have 63,000 spindles and 1,000 
looms, and in addition it has large bleaching, dyeing, and finishing 
works for both yarn and cloth at Muckamore, in County Antrim. 
This concern, at first known as Andrew Mulholland & Son, built in 
1828 the first spinning mill driven by steam power in Ireland. In 
1864 the concern was transformed into a limited liability company 
under the present name, being the first in Belfast to be registered as 
limited. 

A great majority of the firms in the Irish linen industry are now 
limited-liability (that is, joint-stock) companies, and some send 
regular reports to their stockholders and offer their shares to the 



22 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



public. Other firms are private limited, offer no shares to the public, 
and keep their accounts secret. 

There is no trust in the linen industry, with the exception of thread 
manufacture. .The Linen Thread Co. (Ltd.) has absorbed the busi- 
ness of the following: Wm. Barbour & Sons (Ltd.) ; Finlayson, 
Bousfield & Co. (Ltd.) ; W. & J. Knox (Ltd.) ; Dunbar, McMaster 
& Co. (Ltd.) ; F. W. Hayes & Co. (Ltd.) ; Ainsworth & Sons (Ltd.) ; 
and Robert Stewart & Sons (Ltd.). It controls the manufacture and 
export of Irish linen thread of all kinds. 

According to figures in the 1913 directory published by John Wor- 
rall (Ltd.), of Oldham, the largest firms in the Irish linen industry, 
those having over 10,000 spindles or 500 looms, are as follows : 



Firms. 



SPINNING AND WEAVING. 

York Street Flax Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

Ulster Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

William Ewart & Son (Ltd.) 

New Northern Spinning & Weaving Co. (Ltd.). 

Brookfield Linen Co. (Ltd.) 

Lindsay, Thompson & Co. (Ltd.) 

Bessbrook Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

Richardson : Sons & Owden (Ltd.) 

Cork Spinning & Weaving Co. (Ltd.) 

Blackstaff Flax Spinning & Weaving Co. (Ltd.) . 

Falls Flax Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

Whitehouse Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

Thomas Sinton (Ltd.) 



SPINNING ONLY. 



J. & T. M. Greeves (Ltd.) 

Philip Johnston & Sons (Ltd.) 

Braird Water Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

Edenderry Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

Herdmans (Ltd.) 

Doagh Flax Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

Wolfhill Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

John Martin & Co. (Ltd.) 

Dunbar, M'Master & Co. (Ltd.) 

Thomas Sinton & Sons 

Whiteabbey Flax Spinning Co. (Ltd.) . 

Gunning & Campbells (Ltd.) 

John Barbour & Co. (Ltd.) 

James Taylor & Sons (Ltd.) 

Belfast Flax & Jute Co. (Ltd.) 

Cogry Flax Spinning Co 

Thomas Adair & Co 

Armagh Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

Morrison & Metcalfe 

Robert Stewart & Sons (Ltd.) 

James Murland (Ltd.) 

Portadown Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 



WEAVING ONLY. 

Boyne Spinning & Weaving Co. (Ltd.).. 
Milfort Weaving & Finishing Co. (Ltd.). 

John S. Brown & Sons (Ltd.) 

Johnston, Allen & Co 

Durham Street Weaving Co. (Ltd.) 

Rosebank Weaving Co. (Ltd.) 

McCrum, Watson & Mercer (Ltd.) 

Spence, Bryson & Co. (Ltd.) 

Lurgan Weaving Co. (Ltd.) 

Loop Bridge Weaving Co. (Ltd.) 

Broadway Damask Co. (Ltd.) 

Watson, Armstrong & Co 

Achesons (Ltd.) 

Hamilton Robb (Ltd.) 



Location. 



Belfast 

do 

do 

do 

do 

do 

Bessbrook .. 

Belfast 

Cork 

Belfast 

do 

Whitehouse. 
Tandragee . . 



Belfast 

do 

Ballymena 

Belfast 

Sion Mills 

Doagh and Belfast. 

Belfast 

Killyleigh 

Gilford 

Killyleigh 

Whiteabbey 

Belfast 

Whitehouse 

Carrickfergus 

Belfast 

Doagh 

Cookstown 

Armagh 

Belfast 

Lisburn 

Annsborough 

Portadown . 



Drogheda 

Belfast and Dunmurry. 

Lurgan and Belfast 

Lurgan 

Belfast 

do... 

Armagh 

Portadown 

Lurgan 

Belfast 

do 

Portadown 

do 

....do 



Spindles. 



63,000 
55,500 
33,500 
25,000 
24,000 
23,000 
20,000 
20,000 
19, 150 
18,000 
15,000 
15,000 
12,000 



70, 000 
31,000 
30, 000 
27, 392 
26,000 
24. 500 
23,000 
20, 244 
20,000 
18, 500 
18,316 
18,000 
16, 600 
16,414 
14, 972 
14,000 
13,000 
12, 308 
12,000 
12,000 
11,000 
10,000 



Looms. 



1,000 
408 

1,800 
750 

1,400 
450 
760 
760 
200 
312 
640 
200 
360 



1,500 
1,000 
1950 
800 
800 
750 
750 
700 
670 
648 
600 
600 
510 
500 



Also operate 750 hand looms. 



The largest number of spindles in one concern is 70,000, in the 
spinning firm of J. & T. M. Greeves (Ltd.), while the largest number 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 23 

of looms in one concern is 1,800, operated by William Ewart & Son 
(Ltd.). Most of the Irish looms are probably On pure linen, but 
there is an increasing number of looms on unions, goods made partly 
of linen and partly of cotton yarn, x which cater to the demand for 
cheaper linens. As cotton takes and holds dyestuffs better than 
linen, owing to the fiber being softer and more penetrable, unions 
are preferred for many fancy dress goods. The 1,500 looms of the 
Boyne company at Drogheda are partly on linen and partly on cotton 
and unions. 

Power-loom weaving has superseded the hand loom, but there are 
still some hand-loom workers in parts of Down, Armagh, and An- 
trim, especially around Lisburn. They make a few sheer lawns for 
dresses, but as the competition of the power loom is strongest on 
plain goods, most of the hand looms work on extra-heavy damasks, 
diapers, etc. On some qualities of damask hand-loom weavers can 
turn off 4 yards or more a day, but the usual output is 2 to 3 yards. 
Sir William Crawford estimated the wages paid annually for hand- 
loom weaving in Ireland as £220,000 ($1,070,630) in 1893 and £55,000 
$267,660) in 1910. The firm of John S. Brown & Sons (Ltd.) is 
listed as operating 750 hand looms in connection with its 950 power 
looms. 

The York Street Flax Spinning Co. (Ltd.) is exceeded by other 
firms in number of spindles and looms, but taking both spindles and 
Jooms into account, together with its manufacture of made-up arti- 
cles, its big bleaching establishment, etc., this firm claims to be the 
largest linen concern in the world. 

FINANCIAL STATUS OF LARGER FIRMS. 

The following published information in regard to this and other 
prominent firms gives some insight into the industry : 

York Street Flax Spinning Co. (Ltd.). — Spinners, manufacturers, bleachers, 
and merchants. Authorized capital, £650,000, divided into 25,000 6 per cent 
cumulative preference shares of £10 each, and 16,000 ordinary shares of £25 
each. Capital issued and paid up, £550,000 ; also, in addition, £250,000 fully paid 
4£ per cent debenture stock. Accounts are made up to June 30, an interim divi- 
dend being paid in January. Recent dividends (free of income tax) on the 
ordinary shares have been for 1907-8 to 1911-12 at rate of 8 per cent a year. 
On the £25 fully paid, ordinary shares, the market quotations on the 1st of 
January for 1911, 1912, and 1913 were £42i, £40i, and £38. The capital of this 
companv was originally £250,000, but was increased to £500,000 in 1888 and to 
£650,000 in 1897. 

William Ewart & Son (Ltd.). — Spinners, manufacturers, bleachers, and mer- 
chants. Capital £500,000, divided into 20,000 shares of £25 each, fully paid. 
This is a private limited company and no stock is offered or dividends published. 

Brookfield Linen Co. (Ltd.). — Spinners, manufacturers, bleachers, and mer- 
chants. Subscribed capital, £500.000. divided into 20,000 5 per cent cumulative 
preference shares of £10 each, fully paid, and 8,000 ordinary shares of £50 each, 
with £25 per share paid up. Accounts are made up to October 4, an interim 
dividend being paid in May. Dividends on ordinary shares for 1906-7, 7 per 
cent; 1907-8 to 1911-12, 5 per cent a year. On the ordinary shares with £25 
paid up the market quotations on the 1st of January, 1911, 1912, and 1913 were 
£19^, £17f, and £18. 

Edenderry Spinning Co. (Ltd.). — Flax and tow spinners. Capital stock, 
£120,000. divided into 12.000 sbares of £10 each, fully paid. Dividends last 
three years at rate of 6 per cent a year. Stock quoted on the 1st day of Jan- 
uary, 1911, 1912, and 1913 at £12f, £10|, and £10, respectively. 



24 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

Philip Johnston & Sons (Ltd.). — Flax and tow spinners. Capital stock, 
£112,500, divided into 15,000 shares of £7 10s., fully paid. Dividends last three 
years at rate of 6 per cent a year. Stock quoted on 1st day of January, 1911, 
1912, and 1913 at £8|, £8, and £8, respectively. 

TOTAL CAPITAL EMPLOYED AND WAGES PAID. 

Sir William Crawford, head of the largest linen concern, esti- 
mated the capital employed in the Irish linen trade in 1910 as fol- 
Ioavs: 935,000 spindles, at an average price of £5 each, £4,675,000; 
36,000 power looms at £50 each, £1,800,000; bleaching, printing, and 
finishing works, estimated at £500,000. These amounts added to- 
gether would show a total of £6,975,000 (in round figures $34,000,000) 
in plant alone. In addition to this are stocks of raw material and of 
goods in the process of manufacture and in a finished state valued at 
£5,000,000 or £6,000,000. Furthermore, capital is employed in giv- 
ing credit to buyers, and whether this be in the form of discountable 
bills or of open accounts, it amounts to over £2,000,000. The grand 
total of capital employed would thus amount to at least £14,000,000, 
or, in round figures, $70,000,000. 

Sir William Crawford also estimated the amount paid in wages to 
operatives as follows : 67,027 men, women, and young persons, at an 
average of 12s. 6d. ($3.04) per week, £2,178,377; bleachers, printers, 
and finishers, £400,000; embroiderers, hemstitchers, and warehouse 
hands, including lappers, ornamenters, and box makers, £400,000; 
hand-loom weavers, £55,000. Besides all these there are clerks, man- 
agers, and other officials whose salaries would amount to £250,000, 
giving a grand total for annual wages and salaries of £3,283,377 
(approximately $16,000,000). 

Flax-spinning mills are given as costing complete £6 to £8 ($29.20 
to $38.90) per spindle. A power-loom factory for the weaving of 
light and narrow linens costs, complete, £40 to £50 ($195 to $243) 
per loom, while a weave shed for making wide damask or sheetings 
costs £100 ($487), or even up to £200 ($973) per loom. 

CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF FACTORIES. 

Most of the Belfast linen factories are well constructed and con- 
veniently arranged, and the majority of them are equipped with up- 
to-date machinery. Several that had old types of machinery have 
taken advantage of recent good times to replace them with more 
modern machines, and others are contemplating changes. The weave 
sheds are mainly of the one-story, saw-tooth roof type, with cast- 
iron columns and with floors of stone flags or cement. The spinning 
mills are usually four or five stories high. Besides convenience and 
economy of ground space, this arrangement reduces the roof con- 
densation, which is of importance in the wet-spinning rooms gener- 
ally found in Ireland, as unequal degrees of temperature and humid- 
ity greatly affect Ijie spinning of flax }^arns, especially fine counts. 
The heavy hackling machines are usually in a separate building or on 
the first floor of the main building, together with the carding and tow- 
preparing rooms. The hand-hackling operations of roughing and 
sorting occupy the first floor, on which are frequently also the flax 
storerooms. The second floor contains the line-preparing room; the 



LINEN INDUSTKY IN IRELAND. 



25 



third and possibly the fourth the spinning rooms, while the reeling 
room is usually on the top floor. The drying loft is usually over the 
boilers. The roof is usually flat, frequently of armored concrete, with 
parapet. Because flax-spinning machinery is very heavy the build- 
ings have to be solidly constructed. For wet-spinning the bays are 
usually 9 feet wide. The modern mills are built wider than the old 
ones to accommodate the longer frames now used, and may be 57 to 
TO feet wide, to suit two rows of 23 to 30-foot frames and leave a 6- 
foot passage down the middle. 

The so-called warehouse, where the finished cloth is embroidered, 
ornamented, hemstitched, made into handkerchiefs, etc., and the 
cloth and articles folded, ticketed, packed, and marked for shipping, 
is also four or five stories high and usually adjoins the manufactur- 
ing section. The bulk of the cloth after weaving is sent to bleaching 
greens in the country districts to be bleached and finished, which 
usually requires about three weeks, and then comes back to the ware- 
house to be folded and packed or else to be made into various classes 
of articles before shipping. 

RAW MATERIALS. 

The great bulk of the flax manufactured in the United Kingdom 
is of foreign growth, chiefly Russian. In 1912, for instance, there 
was an import of 195.054,720 pounds of flax and 42,228,480 pounds 
of flax tow. The reexports were 6,937,280 pounds 'of flax and 
931.840 pounds of tow, leaving available for manufacture 188.117,440 
pounds of flax and 41,296,640 pounds of tow, or a^ total net import of 
229,414,080 pounds. The production of flax in 'Ireland in 1912 is 
given as 28,945,280 pounds, and in England as 179,200 pounds, but 
there was an export of 12,812,800 pounds, leaving only 16,311,680 
pounds of home-grown flax available for manufacture. Of the flax 
supply of the United Kingdom in 1912, amounting to 245,725,760 
pounds. 229,414,080 pounds, or 93.36 per cent, was imported, and 
16,311,680 pounds, or 6.64 per cent, home grown. The amount of 
Irish flax retained forms a very small proportion of the total. 

SOURCE OF FLAX SUPPLY. 



In recent years the total flax supply of the United Kingdom has 
been obtained as follows, the amounts being given in English tons of 
2,240 pounds : 



Years. 


Irish 
supply. 


English 
supply. 


Flax im- 
ported. 


Flax 
tow im- 
ported. 


Flax and 
tow reex- 
ported. 


Irish 
flax ex- 
ported. 


Net sup- 
ply of 

flax and 
tow. 


1900 


9.479 
10, 073 

9,738 
11,635 
12,922 


93 
96 

48 
■78 
80 


58,442 
74, 794 
69,479 
62,311 

87, 078 


13, 144 
15.304 
18, 963 
17,718 
18,852 


2,577 
2,596 
2,668 
1,384 
3,513 


1,179 
1.458 
4,499 
4,384 
5,720 


77,402 
96, 216 
91, 161 


1905 


1910 


1911 


85,974 


1912 


109, 699 







The Flax Supply Association shows the net Irish supply to have 
been 37,253 tons in 1900, 47,365 tons in 1905, 46,849 tons in 1910, 



26 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



and 44,873 tons in 1911. Ireland accounts for only about half of the 
flax used in the United Kingdom, though it has 80 per cent of the 
spindles. This is due to the fact that Irish spindles are on finer 
counts and the turn-off per spindle is much less than that of a coarse 
spindle in England or Scotland. 

CONSUMPTION PER SPINDLE. 

Government figures as to flax spindles show that in 1905 there 
were 812,952 in Ireland, 49,941 in England, and 160,085 in Scotland, 
a total of 1,022,978. The flax supply in 1905 was 96,216 tons, or 
215,523,840 pounds, which gives an average supply per spindle of 
210.7 pounds. The 812,952 spindles of Ireland, however, consumed 
only 47,365 tons, or 106,097,600 pounds, which is only 130.5 pounds 
a spindle ; while the remainder of 48,851 tons, or 109,426,240 pounds, 
was left to the 210,026 spindles of England and Scotland, giving 
them an available supply per spindle of 521 pounds. Ireland uses 
wet spinning and manufactures mainly fine counts into cambrics and 
other fine plain-woven goods, while Scotch and English mills use 
dry spinning and manufacture medium and coarse yarns into heavier 
domestic linens, ducks, dowlas, canvas, etc. 

COUNTRIES SUPPLYING IMPORTS. 

The gross import of flax and flax tow into the United Kingdom in 
1912, by countries, was as follows: 



From— 


Flax. 


Flax tow. 


Total. 


Tons. 


Value. 


Tons. 


Value. 


Tons. 


Value. 


Russia 


68, 453 

16,205 

2,420 


$13, 518, 704 

6,917,871 

725,863 


12, 366 
5,465 
1,021 


$2,024,415 
497, 113 
126, 573 


80,819 

21,670 

3,441 


$15,543,119 


Belgium 


7, 414, 984 


All other countries 


852, 436 






Total 


87,078 


21,162,438 


18,852 


2,648,101 


105,930 


23,810,539 







Of the total import of flax and flax tow, about three-fourths comes 
from Russia and about one-fifth from Belgium. The small remain- 
der is supplied chiefly by the Netherlands, with a trifle from France, 
Germany, and other countries. Flax and tow are usually quoted and 
sold in the United Kingdom by the ton of 2,240 pounds, though in 
most Irish markets home-grown flax is sold at so many shillings per 
stone of 14 pounds, and in a few others at so much per hundred- 
weight of 112 pounds. 

From the foregoing statement of the 1912 imports it is clear that 
the best flax comes from Belgium ; it averaged $426.90 per ton, while 
the Russian averaged only $197.50. Russian tow, however, averaged 
$163.71 per ton, as against an average of only $90.96 for the Belgian 
tow. The Belgians work up their best tow themselves. 

Russia produces practically all the coarse flax consumed in the 
United Kingdom and Belgium all the fine flax ; Ireland supplies only 
a portion of its requirements in the medium qualities. Irish flax, 
though inferior to the Belgian, is nevertheless much better than the 



LINEN INDUSTKY IN IRELAND. 



27 



Russian and is noted for its strength, which makes it unequaled for 
certain qualities of thread. Large quantities of hand-scutched Irish 
flax were formerly employed in canvas manufacture. 

DECLINE IN IRISH FLAX PRODUCTION. 

The production of flax in Ireland has declined greatty, as shown 
by the following table : 





Acreage. 


Production. 


Average price. 


Years. 


Average 
per acre. 


Total. 


Per ton. 


Per 
pound. 


1860 


128, 595 

301,693 

194, 893 

157, 534 

96, 871 

95,202 

47, 451 

46, 158 

45, 974 

66,618 

54, 931 


Pounds. 


Tons. 


£ s. d. 


Cents. 


1864 


479 
354 
348 
464 
305 
447 
488 
474 
391 
527 


64, 506 
30, 771 
24. 508 
20, 045 
12, 972 

9,479 
10,073 

9,738 
11,635 
12, 922 


58 4 3 

54 17 6 

55 17 4 
50 14 1 
43 16 8 
60 2 9 

56 .. . 
80 .. . 

64 .. . 

65 .. . 


12.65 


1870 


11.92 


1880 


12.14 


1890...: 


11.01 


1895 . 


9.52 


1900 


13.06 


1905 


12.16 


1910 


17.38 


1911 


13.90 


1912 


14.12 







The production per acre and the total production have fluctuated 
greatly, as has also the price. The highest average price recorded 
for an Irish flax crop was £82 12s. per ton (17.95 cents a pound) in 
1868, while the lowest was £39 16s. lOd. per ton (8.65 cents a pound) 
in 1896. 

Flax is grown more or less in all the nine counties of the Province 
of Ulster, but mainly in Down, Antrim, Londonderry, Tyrone, and 
Donegal. In the other three Irish Provinces — Munster, Leinster, 
and Connaught — there are a few acres in flax, but the amount raised 
is negligible, and Ulster is practically the only one that attempts this 
crop. 

The Irish soil and climate are so suitable for growing flax and the 
demand from local mills so large that one would naturally expect the 
bulk of the supply to be raised at home ; instead, the acreage has de- 
clined greatly and there is no prospect of its attaining its former 
record. The comparatively large acreage in 1911, the largest since 
1896, was induced by the high prices then prevailing, but with a re- 
duction in price the acreage again fell in 1912. 



CAUSES OF DECLINE. 

The decline in Irish flax growing has been due to a combination of 
causes, chief among which are the facts that Russia, with its ex- 
tremely low rate of farm wages, can grow flax much cheaper; that 
labor in Ireland is not so plentiful as it once was nor so cheap ; that 
inferior seed has often been used with resultant poor crops; that the 
flax crop requires great care and labor and so much preparation for 
the market that the farmer almost turns manufacturer; and that, 
with the lack of competition among home buyers, it is much less 
troublesome, and at the usual level of prices almost if not fully as 



28 LIKEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

remunerative, to raise potatoes or other crops. Flax has to be care- 
fully watched and tended and must be pulled at the moment it is 
ready. Steeping and drying must be done at the right time and for 
just the proper period. It is difficult now to get enough hands to do 
the work, especially as the demand usually comes just when labor is 
needed for other crops, and the Irish country districts are becoming 
depopulated. Seventy years ago the population of Ireland was about 
"double that of to-day. Census figures show a steady decline in the 
population since 1841, when it reached its maximum, as follows: 1841, 
8,196,597; 1851, 6,575,278; 1861, 5,798,967; 1871, 5,412,377; 1881, 
5,174,836; 1891, 4,704,750; 1901, 4,458,775; 1911, 4,381,951. 

On the other hand England, Wales, and Scotland have been steadily 
increasing in population. In 1841 Ireland had 8,196,597 inhabitants 
to Scotland's 2,620,184, while in 1911 Scotland had 4,759,445 to 
Ireland's 4,381,951. This depopulation has resulted in some increase 
in wages, and has made it especially difficult to get sufficient labor, 
particularly for a crop like flax, the pulling, retting, and drying of 
which require at certain periods a large force of labor, whose re- 
muneration can not be large. The growing and manufacturing of 
flax is essentially a low- wage industry, despite the high price of the 
finished product. This anomaly is due to the fact that flax requires 
much labor, especially handwork. 

GROWING AND PREPARATION OF FLAX FOR MARKET. 

The flax plant is an annual, sown in the spring and pulled in the 
autumn. The stalks grow 2 to 3 feet high and bear blue flowers. 
Usually 2 bushels, of 56 pounds each, are sown to the acre. The 
Irish crop is grown for the fiber only, hence it is pulled before it 
comes to full maturity and all seed for planting must be imported. 
About two-thirds of the seed imported for this purpose is Russian 
seed from Riga and about one- third Dutch. The plant grows best 
on a deep sandy loam. It is peculiarly liable to deterioration from 
weeds, and all weeds have to be carefully removed before the plant 
exceeds 6 inches in height. In order to obtain the greatest amount of 
fiber, flax, instead of being reaped like wheat and other crops, is 
pulled up by the roots, this being an easy operation owing to the 
shortness of the tap root. 

Flax is retted (that is, rotted) in various ways. The world's best 
flax comes from the Courtrai district in Belgium, where it is retted, 
sometimes twice, in the sluggish waters of the river Lys, while plenty 
of time is allowed for stacking and grassing. In Russia flax is largely 
retted by spreading it out thinly on the grass and leaving it to the 
action of the elements, this being called dew retting. Retting is a 
tedious operation, and though chemical treatment has not been suc- 
cessful in producing a good fiber, in some places on the Continent 
improved systems of retting have proved quite successful in reducing 
the time required. By this system the flax is raised and lowered 
mechanically in tanks and then dried in sheds. 

In Ireland flax is retted in shallow artificial ponds, called retting 
dams, which are usually about 50 feet long, 10 feet wide, and about 
4 feet deep. The sheaves of pulled flax, after the rippling or removal 
of the seed in a coarse hackle, are placed in the pond vertically, with 



LINEN INDUSTKY IN IRELAND. 



29 



root ends down, leaning against the bank and against each other, until 
the pond is full. A covering of rushes and sod is spread over the top 
and the straw left to ferment. When the steeping is in progress the 
stench that rises from the retting dams is exceedingly offensive. The 
straw is usually kept in the water 10 to 11 days and is then removed 
by men who wade into the waters of the pond and lift out the wet 
sheaves. After draining on the bank for a short while the sheaves 
are undone, and the straw is spread out thinly and uniformly in rows 
over a closely cropped meadow, this operation being called grassing. 
Three or four days are usually required for this, and the dried straw 
is then bundled and stacked up for the scutching. The root ends are 
kept even to facilitate subsequent work. 

Flax from different sections of Ireland has different values; some 
is worth twice as much as others, owing to the quality of the seed 
sown, the kind of land, and the care with which the various processes 
of retting, grassing, and scutching are carried out. Irish hand- 
scutched flax is now very rare, and most of the flax is scutched in 
mills located on small streams and operated by overshot wheels. In 
the scutch mill the stalks are usually first run through three fluted 
iron rollers to break the woody boon and leave the stalks more pliable, 
and small bunches are then held by hand so as to be struck by revolv- 
ing wooden blades, which knock away the woody boon from the 
surrounding fiber. The fibers in flax straw form a kind of inner bark 
that surrounds a woody interior called the boon, and the fibers in 
turn are covered with a thin skin. The object of scutching is to 
knock out the woody boon and separate the fibers from each other. 
The long fibers as they come from the scutching mill are tied up in 
bundles, put in bags, and shipped to the mill for manufacture. 



COST OF PRODUCING FLAX. 



The cost of raising flax varies at different times and places. Mr. 
H. R. Carter, in 1909, gave the average cost of producing an acre of 
flax in Ireland as follows: 



Items. 


English 
currency. 


American 
currency. 


Rent and taxes - 


£ s. d. 
1 14 6 
1 5 
1 3 
7 6 
5 

10 6 
5 6 
12 
1 13 


$8.41 


Seed 




6.08 


Preparing the land 


5.60 


Sowing 


1.82 


Weeding 


1.21 


Pulling 


2.55 


Retting 


1.34 


Grassing 


2.92 


Scutching _ _ 


8.02 








Total 


7 16 


37.95 







Taking the average cost of production as £7 16s., or $37.95 an acre, 
the average yield of fiber from good land as 37J stones of 14 pounds, 
or 525 pounds an acre, and figuring the average value of the flax as 
about 6s. per stone (10.42 cents a pound), Mr. Carter estimates the 
average profits per acre to be £11 5s. ($54.75) minus £7 16s. ($37.95), 
which is £3 9s., or $16.80; 



30 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

NET YIELD OF PREPARED FLAX PER ACRE. 

Ordinarily green flax as pulled weighs 5 tons, or 11,200 pounds, to 
the acre. Drying takes away about 55 per cent, or 6,200 pounds, leav- 
ing 5,000 pounds. From the latter amount, seeding, or rippling, takes 
away about 20 per cent, or 1,000 pounds, leaving 4,000 pounds. Ret- 
ting, or steeping, still further reduces the quantity about 25 per cent, 
or 1,000 pounds, leaving 3,000 pounds. The final operation of break- 
ing and scutching takes away approximately 82 per cent, or 2,475 
pounds, leaving only 525 pounds, or 37^ stones, as the net yield. 

From the 5 tons, or 11,200 pounds, of green flax as pulled one can 
therefore figure on only about 525 pounds of scutched flax, which is 
a yield of less than 5 per cent. The percentage finally sold as cloth 
varies according to the quality of the material, the kind of goods 
made, the extent to which the purification by bleaching is carried 
on, etc. Thorough bleaching alone will take out over 20 per cent, 
without considering the waste, visible and invisible, in the hackling, 
preparing, spinning, and manufacturing, so that usually not a great 
deal over half the yield of scutched flax will be sold as doth, either 
as fine linens or coarse tow goods. 

In Ireland flax is found to thrive best if sown after potatoes, 
wheat, or oats, a good rotation being oats, turnips, wheat, clover, grass, 
and potatoes. Flax should not be sown in the same field more fre- 
quently than once in every seven years. Many landowners are fixed 
in their belief that flax impoverishes the soil, and it is still customary 
in certain parts of Ireland, as in England and Scotland, to insert 
clauses in the leases of farms prohibiting the growing of flax. Most 
authorities, however, now agree that by following a proper rotation of 
crops, and by returning the waste matter of the flax to the soil in 
the form of manure, all that is taken away is restored. The fiber 
of flax, like the fiber of cotton, contains in itself little or no plant 
food. 

PROCESSES OF MANUFACTURE. 

In textile manufacturing in Ireland, as in Great Britain, distinc- 
tion is made between the mill, the factory, and the Avarehouse. Flax 
is spun into yarn in the mill ; yarn is manufactured into cloth in the 
factory; while subsequent processes, such as embroidering or other- 
wise ornamenting, making up into handkerchiefs, etc., folding, mark- 
ing, and casing, are carried on in the warehouse. The three divi- 
sions of the work may be carried on under the same roof, but a 
weaver would never think of referring to herself as a mill hand, nor 
would a hackler or a spinner be called a factory operative. 

SPINNING. 

Flax is prepared and spun into two general classes of linen yarn : 
(1) Long, or line, yarn, and (2) short, or tow, yarn. Long line 
is prepared by hackling, gill preparing, drawing, roving, and spin- 
ning. Fine leas are made on wet-spinning frames and coarse leas 
on dry-spinning frames. Tow yarn is prepared from the short fibers 
combed from the material during the preparatory processes of rough- 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 31 



ing and hackling. Flax tow bears the same relation to line sliver 
that noil does to combed top in worsted. 

When very superior yarn is required, it is made from cut line, as 
distinguished from ordinary long line, and in such cases the ends, 
which contain the poorer and less uniform fiber, are cut off, and 
only the middle utilized. This middle varies from 12 to 18 inches 
or more in length. Out of very long flax two middles may be taken 
from 9 to 12 inches long, these very short middles being required 
for only the finest machinery, or where the flax is so sound and long 
that there would be waste in taking only one long middle, and thus 
throwing too much pure fiber into the ends for use in lower-grade 
work. The ends are never so well dressed or prepared as the middle, 
and can not be spun to such fine counts. 

The roughing of flax that is to be converted into cut line is usually 
performed in a manner different from that for long line, the pieces 
being made much larger and being given a mere draw over the 
pin points to level the fiber. This style of roughing is called stack- 
ing, and Courtrai flax is treated principally in this manner. The 
reason for the pieces being made larger is that the fluted rollers of 
the breaking machine, or cutter, get a firmer hold of the piece as it 
is passed in to be broken, or cut. and it is thus broken square across 
the end with no dragged fiber. 

Flax is rarely spun on the dry system to over 28 lea (equivalent 
to No. 10 cotton yarn), nor tow to over 16 lea; on the wet-spinning 
system flax is spun commercially up to 300 lea (equivalent to No. 
107 cotton yarn) and a small amount up to 400 lea, and tow is spun 
up to about 60 lea. For exhibition purposes flax has been spun 
as fine as 1,100 lea (equal to No. 392 cotton counts), but neither 
commercially nor for exhibition purposes are flax yarns capable of 
being spun to the extreme attenuation of cotton yarns. Flax yarns 
are stronger than cotton, but much less elastic. 

Scotland makes coarse yarns and uses dry spinning exclusively, 
while Ireland makes medium and fine yarns and uses wet spinning 
almost exclusively. We shall describe the processes typical of Irish 
flax-spinning mills. 

MILL ORGANIZATION AND PROCESSES. 

The average flax-spinning mill in Ireland contains approximately 
20.000 spindles and employs some 750 workers, of whom about three- 
fourths are women and girls. The management of such a mill con- 
sists of the following: (1) The owners of the mill or directors of the 
company owning it; (2) a mill manager; (3) a head sorting master, 
a head preparing master, and a head spinning master; (4) a flax 
buyer and a yarn salesman. 

The usual processes in an Irish flax-spinning mill are as follows: . 

Hackling rooms: Roughing by hand; machine hackling; sorting 
by hand. 

Preparing room: Spreading; drawing (3 to 5 processes) ; roving. 

Spinning room : Wet spinning. 

Yarn department : Reeling ; yarn drying ; yarn bundling and bal- 
ing. 



32 LINEN', JUTE. AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

HACKLING ROOM. 

PI AND HACKLING OR ROUGHING. 

The first process through which flax passes in an Irish mill is the 
preliminary hand hackling called roughing. The stricks of scutched 
flax are first divided into small handfuls, or pieces. Large pieces 
mean cheap but imperfect hackling, while small pieces increase the 
cost but under ordinary conditions produce superior line. In the 
Belfast flax-spinning trade it is customary to piece out at the rate 
of 6 to 10 pieces per pound. The roughers, who are always men and 
who have had to serve an apprenticeship, stand in a long line facing 
the windows along each side of the room. In front of each is a 
coarse hackle consisting of some 50 or more steel pins, each 7 inches 
long and 5 B. W. G., set in a block. The rougher picks up a small 
handful of the loose fibers and by placing the root ends in the hackle 
and by pulling, leaves the loose and straggling ends among the 
spikes; he reverses the piece and repeats the operation, and then re- 
places the straggling fibers evenly on the piece, the last part of the 
operation being known as squaring. The piece is then drawn across 
the hackle and opened up, which removes lumps, knots, and coarse 
tow. (Fig. 1.) 

As each end is finished on the hackle, the loose straggling fibers are 
broken off on a square or triangular pin at the left called a touch- 
pin. The rougher lays the finished piece upon his bench beside some 
others, withdrawing his hand in such a way that the piece is partly 
twisted upon itself and can therefore be easily separated from the 
others in starting the machine work. Layer by layer a bundle is 
produced weighing about 40 pounds, which is tied with three cords 
and sent to the hackling machine. The short fiber that remains in 
the hackle, when it accumulates, is worked off into tow. 

Roughing is an exceedingly dusty operation, and the fine dust 
given off contains a high percentage of flinty particles that have a 
particularly injurious effect upon the lungs. Formerly consumption 
and other diseases were considered to be induced thereby, and even 
when it did not lead to such special trouble the inhalation of the flax 
dust was considered so to impair the constitution of the worker that 
British recruiting officers were forbidden to enlist any man who had 
ever worked at this trade. After investigation the British Govern- 
ment finally treated roughing as an occupation dangerous to health, 
and issued stringent regulations as to ventilating apparatus for draw- 
ing away the dust. In front of every rougher and just behind the 
hackle, there is now an opening, covered with wire gauze to prevent 
the passage of fiber, and a suction draught created by a fan at the end 
draws away the bulk of the dust created. The law requires the ex- 
haust draught in hand-hackling, roughing, and sorting rooms to have 
a minimum velocity of 400 feet per minute, and specifies that the 
minimum area of the exhaust opening opposite each hackler shall be 
50 square inches. Similar ventilating systems are also obligatory in 
Belgium, France, and some other countries. 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



33 




Fig. 1. — Roughing, the first operation in a flax mill. 



1 


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H ^Ha%^ J _^^fl ' 




WLj00* ^. ■EJi 




*fM ik ^^ .*#V v^^B 


Si^ 




I 
i i 




'^3*-""^" " 




■ 

• 


HP". 







Fig. 2. — Tow carding in a Belfast mill. 
13002°— Xo. 74—13 3 



34 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

MACHINE HACKLING. 

From the roughing room the material goes to the hackling machine. 
Hackling is a combing process, and the work of the machine may be 
quickly understood if one imagines a man holding up a bunch of 
flax in one hand while he combs it with the other, then reversing the 
bunch eiu:l for end and again combing. The hackling machine con- 
sists essentially of two long endless sheets of hackles revolving verti- 
cally side by side. Each long sheet really consists of several sheets side 
by side on the upper and lower rollers. Each of the sheets is some TO 
inches in circumference and is made up of 24 to 30 hackle bars about 
10 inches long, each of which carries a single row of steel pins. The 
machine boy, or filler, who stands at the end of the machine, lavs a 
piece of the roughed flax in a camp, or holder, which lies open before 
him, and screws together the two flat sides of the clamp. He starts 
this clamp, or holder, with its suspended flax in the groove in a long 
iron channel, or head, which extends the length of the machine above 
the double line of revolving hackles. The head automatically lowers 
and subjects the piece of flax to the action of the hacldes, which comb 
it from both sides. The head rises, the holder slides a short distance, 
and the head again lowers, this time subjecting the flax to the action 
of a sheet, or tool, as it is called, with pins spaced somewhat closer 
together ; and this process is continued to the end of the machine, the 
flax being subjected to the action of finer and finer hackles. When it 
reaches the end, the holder is taken out and unscrewed by a boy, 
who draws the flax through, so as to expose the other end. He then 
screws it up again and passes it to another boy, who starts it on its 
return journey through a parallel machine, where it is alternately 
raised, moved forward, and subjected to the action of hackles with 
pins spaced successively closer and closer. It is finally received by a 
fourth boy, who unclamps it and lays it aside with others until he has 
enough to make a bundle, or tipple, as it is called, because the ends 
are tippled, or tied, together like a topknot. The bundle is then 
sent to the sorting room. 

The foregoing describes the machine-hackling process, but in recent 
years the machine has been improved and made so automatic in action 
that one boy takes the place of four, the two separate machines being 
coupled together to form a .combined, or duplex, machine. The 
duplex machine is tended by one boy at the front end and his work 
is simply to lay the pieces of roughed flax in the open holders and 
then to take out the hackled flax when the holders have returned 
after making a circuit of the machine. The machine automatically 
screws up the holders, starts them down one channel head, unscrews 
the holders at the end and draws the flax through, screws up the 
holders again, returns them through the other channel head, and 
then unscrews the holders ready for the machine boy to take out 
the finished piece and insert another. The improved machine, which 
is now largely used, not only saves in the cost of labor by one boy 
doing the work of four, but also makes less and more uniform tow 
by reason of its screwing up all holders to exactly the same holding 
power. 

For very coarse flax the machine is arranged with as few as 9 
tools, or sets of hackle sheets, with pins spaced from 1 pin in 4 inches 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 35 

up to 6 pins to the inch, while for fine Courtrai flax it may have as 
many as 20 tools, with pins successively spaced from 1 pin in 2 inches 
up to as many as 5G to the inch. The closer the spacing the finer the 
pin, the finest ones being like small needles. The pins are usually 
1 inch long. The hackle sheets usually make four to twelve revolu- 
tions per minute, and the head raises and lowers the flax four to 
six times, throwing out four to six holders in the same period of time. 
According to the. size of the pieces and the number of lifts per 
minute, the production of the combined machine varies from 500 to 
1,000 pounds a day of hackled fiber. The finest fiber is worked in the 
smallest pieces and with the slowest speed so as to secure the best 
results. 

COMBINED MACHINE HACKLER AND SPREADER. 

A still further improvement has recently been made .whereby the 
labor on the ordinary spreader is eliminated by combining its opera- 
tions with that of the hackling machine, so that one boy runs a com- 
bined machine that takes in roughed flax and delivers it, after hack- 
ling, in the form of sliver ready for the draw frames. The specially 
designed single-sliver spread board attached to the duplex hackling 
machine draws the flax from the holder and lays it down on the feed 
sheet with greater regularity than hand spreading and with much 
less displacement of the fibers. The resultant sliver is exceptionally 
level. With this machine the number of lifts per minute can be 
increased bevond eight, as the boy has time to spread the flax care- 
fully in the holder and does not have to pull out and lay down the 
finished piece. Unfilled holders automatically stop the feed sheet, 
which starts again when the next full holder is presented. The 
automatic sliver-can packer, without any attention, presses over 50 
pounds of sliver into a can 38 by 16 by 13 inches. A stop motion 
acts on the belt if a lump passes through the delivery rollers, if a 
lap forms on the delivery rollers, and when the required number 
of yards has been packed in the can. This combined patent auto- 
mafic spreader and duplex hackling machine is the very latest im- 
provement in flax-preparing machinery and though new is being 
rapidly adopted by the larger mills. 

The machine tow, as a brush combs it out of the hackles revolving 
around the bottom sheet roller, is delivered to wire-covered cloffers, 
from which it is struck by oscillating cloffer combs and knocked into 
the tow boxes underneath. These tow boxes -under the machine are 
separated into four parts and the tows are called No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, 
and No. 4 tow, according to whether they come from the first or fol- 
lowing boxes. No. 1 tow, which is combed out by the widest spaced 
pins, is the coarsest and least valuable, and No. 4 the most valuable. 

SORTING. 

The tipples go from the machine-hackling room to the sorting room, 
where they are opened and subjected to a hand-hackling operation 
very similar to that of roughing, except that the hackling pins are 
finer and more closely spaced and the sorters are supposed to see 



36 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTKIES. 

that all pieces placed together in a bunch are of the same color and 
are capable of being spun to the same lea. As in roughing, the men 
stand in a line along the wall and each has his own hackle and exhaust 
draft outlet for the dust. Sorting takes more skill than roughing, 
and the men have to serve a longer apprenticeship and get higher pay. 
All Irish mills have hand roughing and machine hackling, but 
sorting, which is really a finisher process of hackling, is frequently 
omitted where the mill spins to only medium leas. 

PREPARING ROOM. 

The hackled flax goes to the preparing room, where it passes 
through a system of three types of machines — spreader, drawing- 
frames, and roving frame — before it is ready for the spinning room. 
A system always consists of one spreader and one roving frame, but 
there may be from three to five or even six drawing frames, according 
to the fineness of the yarn to be made. 

There are two ways of forming flax, hemp, and jute fibers into 
sliver, that is, spreading and carding. The cheaper carding process is 
used for coarse, cheap fibers, such as jute, tow, and low-class, or 
broken-up flax, while spreading is typical of long-line flax and hemp. 

SPREADING. 

The spreader is really a preliminary drawing frame, and its object 
is to draw out the loose flax fibers into a soft rope, or sliver, as it is 
called, for working on subsequent machines. At the back of the 
machine is a traveling apron, which is divided longitudinally into 
sections corresponding to the number of slivers to be formed, usually 
four for coarse work and six for fine. On each of the endless leather 
belts of this feed table the woman spreader places handful after 
handful of the shiny fiber, the successive pieces being overlapped for 
about three-fourths of their length to form a continuous uniform 
narrow layer of approximately the same thickness and weight per 
unit of length. As the flax is moved forward by the creeper feed it is 
seized by a pair of feed rollers, and as it emerges from these, rows 
of pins on short hackle bars, or fallers, strike up through it and carry 
it forward to a pair of drawing rollers. The fiber is subjected to a 
combing action and drawn out or attenuated in its progress by reason 
of the fallers moving slightly faster than the feed rollers, and the 
drawing rollers moving many times faster than the fallers. The 
short hackle bars carrying the rows of steel pins are called fallers. 
because, as soon as the fiber is carried forward from the feed to the 
drawing rollers, they fall down underneath and return again to strike 
up close to the feed rollers. (Fig. 3.) 

For jute the fallers are arranged on an endless chain, but for flax 
they are fastened at each end in the grooves of an upper and lower 
pair of screws that serve the same purpose but enable them to work 
closer to the rollers and so give better work. The four or six slivers 
coming out at the front of the spreader are doubled into one and fall 
of their own weight into stationary rectangular or elliptical cans, 
which are then placed behind a drawing frame. 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 37 



* DRAWING. 

The drawing frames are similar to the spreader in every respect, 
except that they are fed with slivers instead of loose flax, that there 
are three feed rollers instead of one pair, and that the hackle pins on 
the fallers are finer and arranged in three rows instead of two. as on 
the spreader fallers. Throughout flax-spinning mills the screw-gill 
system is preferred. The maximum speed on an ordinary screw-gill 
arrangement is only about 200 drops of the faller per minute, as 
against about 350 drops per minute on the push-bar type used for 
jute; but in working long-line flax quantity is always less important 
than quality. Where the patent disk cam with front spring is em- 
ployed, however, a much higher speed can be attained in screw-gill 
boxes and } T et give excellent work. 

The successive drawing frames are similar in their general con- 
struction and alike in their object of paralleling and attenuating the 
slivers that pass through them. The number of drawing frames to 
be used, the drafts, the doublings, the pins per inch, the pitch of the 
screws, etc., vary according to the lea and quality of the yarn spun. 
For long line, the draft, or number of inches of sliver delivered for 
every inch fed in, will give good results with an average of 12 per 
machine for the system, but may vary from 10 to 15 and sometimes 
considerably higher. The doublings may vary from 4 to 16. For 
instance, in a three-drawing system for making 10s to 16s lea from 
long line, there may be successive doublings of 8. 6, and 4. while in a 
five-drawing S3 7 stem for making 120s to 250s there may be successive 
doublings of 16, 16, 8, 8, and 4. 

ROVING. 

The roving frame is similar in its action to the drawing machine, 
having feed rollers, fallers, and drawing rollers, but the finished 
product is called roving and is wound on large double-headed bobbins, 
a slight twist being inserted in the operation. In flax roving frames 
the flyer has a constant speed and travels faster than the bobbin. 
Since the flyer leads and has a constant rate of delivery, the bobbin 
must run more quickly when full than when empty, in proportion to 
its increasing circumference, and this is effected bv using the Hould- 
worth, Brooks & Doxey or other system of differential gearing. 
There is no doubling on the roving frame. The roving frames may 
have from 56 up to as many as 112 spindles, and the tendency is 
toward increasing speed even more than increasing the length of the 
frame. (Fig. 4.) 

SPINNING ROOM. 
WET SPINNING OF FLAX. 

The bobbins of roving are carried to the spinning room and set on 
skewers in the creel of the wet-spinning frame. The spreader, draw- 
ing frames, and roving frame, as shown above, attenuated the suc- 
cessive slivers by causing the fibers (which may be 16 to 30 inches in 
length) to slide one upon another. They were able to do this because, 



38 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 




LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



39 




40 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

when the drawing rollers acted on them, they were out of the grip 
of the feed rollers and lying only between the faller pins. Each of 
these long fibers of flax, however, is really made up of many short 
fibers that are bound together with a natural gum. These short 
fibers are only 1J to 2 -J inches long, and to make fine yarns the gummy 
coating must be loosened so they may slide upon each other and make 
yarn of a smaller diameter. This is done by passing the roving 
through covered troughs of water heated by means of steam pipes. 
The rove from the bobbins passes over rove guides and then under 
rods which hold it submerged in the troughs, whence it passes to the 
feed rollers over the lip of the trough and the rove shifter. There 
are only two pairs of rollers on a flax-spinning frame and the lower 
pair, which are called drawing rollers, are set only slightly forward 
of the upper, or feed, rollers. The distance from center to center of 
the two sets of rollers is called the reach, and may vary from 1| to 4 
inches, according to the kind of material worked and the fineness of 
the yarn required. Wet-spinning frames are always on the flyer 
system, as mules are unsuitable owing to the smooth, straight, and 
inelastic character of the fiber; ring spinning was abandoned on 
account of the dirt and water. 

In flyer spinning the bobbin is loose upon the spindle, and is pulled 
around by the yarn and flyer, which leads and wraps the yarn upon 
the bobbin, which is dragged, or retarded, in its motion by drag bands. 
Along the front of the spindle rail is a notched strip, and a weighted 
drag band fastened to the rail back of each spindle touches the base 
of the bobbin and is laid in one of the notches at the front. At the 
start the drag bands are laid in a notch so that they just touch the 
bobbin, but as the bobbins fill and become heavier the drag bands 
are moved up notch by notch so as to exert more drag by reason of 
the band embracing a larger part of the base of the bobbin. This 
work of shifting the drag bands is usually done by the spinner, but 
on some frames it is now performed by an automatic arrangement. 
The spindles are driven by either tapes or cords; if tapes are used 
the spindle wharf is made barrel shaped and the tapes are either sewn 
together or fastened with a patent fastener. The cord, or band, 
system of driving, similar to that used in cotton spinning, is usually 
preferred, especially for fine work, and the bands are made of cotton. 
The bobbins are double-headed and for fine work not much larger 
than an ordinary spool of sewing thread. Most flax yarns are given 
a left-hand twist, which makes a right-hand cable twist when they 
are plied into thread. The number of turns twist per inch usually 
given to flax yarns is the product of the square root of the lea multi- 
plied by 1.75 for weft, 2 for warps and tows, and 2J to 3 for yarn to 
be plied into thread. 

Flax-spinning spindles rarely run at over 6,000 revolutions per 
minute. The production per spindle varies with the speed, the degree 
of twist inserted, and the quality of the material. On 40s lea line a 
production of 20 cuts, or leas, per spindle in 10 hours is considered a 
fair turn off. The speed is considerably higher than formerly and 
the length of the frames is also increasing. A common number of 
spindles to a side is 104, but some of the frames on very fine leas now 
have as many as 170 spindles to the side. (Fig. 5.) 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



41 




42 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTKIES. 

In the preparing room, as well as in the hackling rooms, the oper- 
atives suffer considerably from the dry and dusty atmosphere un- 
avoidably connected with their handling dry flax fiber, no matter 
what artificial means of alleviation is used. In the wet-spinning 
room they suffer from heat and dampness. The water in the troughs 
along each side of the frames is heated by steam, and though the 
troughs are covered there is a constant escape of moisture, if not of 
steam, into the room ; water is also constantly thrown on the spinner 
from the damp yarn on the revolving bobbins. The law requires that 
spinners be provided with waterproof bibs and aprons and that 
coarse frames of more than 2f-inch pitch be provided Avith dash- 
boards; there are also regulations as to ventilation. In many mills 
the water collects in pools on the stone floor, and for women and girls 
to work barefoot on a wet. stone floor in a steam-laden atmosphere is 
not very conducive to health. Fine yarns become brittle with cold, 
and rooms where such yarns are spun must be kept much hotter than 
others. In the more modern mills the spinning-room floor is laid 
with cream-colored tiles and is sloped in such a way that the water is 
drained off. The space underneath the frame is barreled, while 
there is a small channel along the feet on either side, and these chan- 
nels and the spinners' alley itself are sloped slightly toward the wall 
so that all water may drain off into a larger channel by the wall and 
be conducted into drainpipes. 

The small double-headed spinning bobbins are sent to the reel room 
and wound off. into skeins on swifts 90 inches in diameter. They are 
then dried, usually in a loft over the boiler room, and then bundled 
or bunched for shipment. Except when the yarn is to be used green 
(in its natural condition) in a weave shed in the same building, in 
which case the yarn may be dried on the spinning bobbins or on tin 
warper beams, flax yarns are nearly always sent away from the spin- 
ning mill in hanks. The hanks may be either bundled or bunched. 
The difference is that a bundle is formed upon a bundling stool and is 
the full length of the hank, about 40 inches, while a bunch is formed 
in a bundling press in which the hanks are doubled, forming a bunch 
about 20 1 inches in length. For shipment from mill to mill the hanks 
are only bundled or bunched, but for export the separate bunches are 
put together in a hydraulic press, wrapped with paper and burlap, 
fastened with ties or cords, and shipped as bales. 

Wet-spun yarns are known as lea yarns and are numbered differ- 
ently from dry-spun yarns. The count, or lea, of wet-spun flax yarns 
means the number of 300-yard cuts, or leas, that weigh a pound. 
Thus 1-lea yarn would measure 300 yards to the pound, 10-lea yarn 
3,000 yards to the pound, etc. In the complete table the circumfer- 
ence of the reel swift, which is 90 inches, or 2^ yards, is called a 
thread; 120 threads, or 300 yards, make a cut, or lea; 12 cuts make a 
hank ; while 200 cuts, which are 16f hanks, or 60,000 yards, make a 
bundle. In the United Kingdom, lea yarns are always sold on the 
basis of the bundle of 60,000 yards, and not by the pound, usually 
with 11 per cent discount from the quoted price for cash. 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 43 

TOW SPINNING. 

Tow is the shorter and less valuable fiber that is discarded in the 
hackling operations in making line yarns and corresponds to the 
noil of a worsted mill. It is of different grades and values, according 
to the material and the stage of the process at which made. Accord- 
ing to Mr. H. R. Carter, a well-known flax expert, roughing tow, 
Nos. 1. 2, 3, and 4 machine tow, and sorters' tow usually have relative 
values corresponding to the ratios 32, 35, 38, 40, 42, and 46. In tows, 
as in flax, there is a wide range, from the very coarse tows which 
can be used only for coarse sacking, up to the fine, and sometimes 
combed, tows which can be spun up to as high as 60s, and which are 
much more valuable than many coarse grades of flax. Some tows are 
worked by themselves, but more often various sorts are mixed to 
obtain lots of good average quality and color to meet a certain price. 

There are various processes of making tow yarns. Tow is always 
prepared by carding, as the short, tangled nature of the fibers forbids 
the spreading preparation employed for flax line. There may, how- 
ever, be one card or two, and in some cases even a combing machine ; 
there may be two, three, or four drawing frames, and after being 
made into roving it may be spun either wet, dry, or by a damping 
process, according to the fineness, condition, and character of the yarn 
required. (Fig. 2.) 

Where two cards are used, as is usual on the fine tows, the first, or 
breaker, card usually has a cylinder of 6 feet width 'and 4 feet di- 
ameter, fitted with workers and strippers and similar in its general 
action to a jute breaker card. The tangled masses of tow, after a 
preliminary cleansing of loose dust and dirt in a shaker, or teaser, 
are spread by hand on the sloping feed sheet at the back and delivered 
as sliver at the front. These cans are sometimes fed to the finisher 
card, but more usually they are put up to a sliver lap machine, which 
rolls the slivers under pressure into laps, two or more of which are 
put on the back of the finisher card. The latter is fitted with strip- 
per- and workers similar to the breaker card but arranged for finer 
work. The draft on tow cards is low, usually 14 or 15. The weight 
put through flax tow cards per day of 10 hours varies from 250 to 
500 pounds, according to the grade of the material and the weight of 
the sliver. For certain classes of tow only one card is used after the 
preliminary shaking or teasing, and this card takes the place of both 
breaker and finisher and is frequently a full-circle down-striker card 
with porcupine or shell feed. 

Whether one or two cards be employed, the finished-card sliver 
passes to the drawing. As a rule three drawing frames are used in 
flax-tow preparing, but very fine tows require four, and in excep- 
tional instances five have been employed. These machines are made 
with feed rollers, fallers, and drawing rollers, and are similar in their 
action to those used for long line, but with such differences as are 
necessary for working the shorter-stapled and more tangled material. 
The rollers are smaller in diameter and the faller pins shorter, so 
the fallers may be brought as close as possible to the nip of the 
rollers and prevent the short fiber from dropping out and making 
excessive waste. In flax-line preparing, as previously noted, the 
drafts run from 10 to 15 on the drawing frames and roving, but in 



44 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

tow, owing to the much shorter fiber, the drafts are much shorter 
and usually run from 6 to 8. After the drawing there is one roving 
process, and then the spinning, which is wet for fine tows and dry 
for coarse. 

For very coarse, heavy yarns, in which cheap production is the 
main point, only two drawing-frame processes are used, being pre- 
ceded, however, by double carding. For work as coarse as 40 pounds 
per spindle a rotary gill roving is sometimes used without any regular 
spinning process. 

Tow yarns, being made of shorter fiber than line yarns, require 
more turns twist per inch. The number varies according to tin 1 
strength and grade of the material, but is ordinarily the square root 
of the lea multiplied by about 2 for weft and 2.2 for warp. 

YARN DEPARTMENT. 

When flax has been spun into yarn, dried, and reeled, it is a finished 
article of commerce, but before it reaches the loom it has frequently 
to undergo considerable changes, such as scouring, boiling, bleaching, 
and possibly dyeing. Unbleached yarns are known as gray, or green, 
yarns and in the weaving trade cloth made from such yarns is known 
as green linens while that made from boiled yarn is known as boiled 
linens. Flax yarn contains a remarkably large percentage of impuri- 
ties, including a considerable quantity of gummy substances, as well 
as much dirt and woody matter, amounting in most cases to fully a 
fourth of its weight. If this yarn is woven green and the cloth sub- 
jected to thorough bleaching, the shrinkage in the diameter of the 
yarns will leave the cloth looking more or less bare. To prevent this 
and to enable the weaving of a tighter and firmer cloth, yarns that 
are intended for fine white linens are usually boiled in soda lye, which 
not only reduces their bulk but also makes them softer and more 
workable. Creaming, in which the yarn is partly decolorized, is 
usually employed for fabrics to be sold in that condition. As a rule. 
yarns that are bleached are those intended for grass cloths, cream 
damasks, apron dowlas, huckabacks, towels, etc., Avhich are not 
bleached after weaving. However, for various reasons some articles 
made from bleached yarns are also bleached in the piece. The pro- 
portion of loss in weight of the yarns through boiling, etc., varies 
not only with the extent to which the bleaching process is carried 
but also with the quality of the material. The approximate loss in 
weight caused by the various processes to which the yarn may be 
subjected is usually as follows: Scoured, 2 to 6 per cent; boiled, 4 to 8 
per cent; twice boiled, 7 to 10 per cent ; one-fourth bleached (creamed) . 
8 to 12 per cent ; one-half bleached (high creamed) , 10 to 15 per cent ; 
three-fourths bleached, 12 to 20 per cent; full bleached, 15 to 25 per 
cent. 

WEAVING. 

Irish Aveave mills average about 500 looms each, and it is usually 
considered that in a complete weave shed the total number of opera- 
tives about equals the total number of looms. The management of 
the weaving factory comprises the following: (1) The owners of the 
factory or the directors of the company owning it; (2) a factory 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 45 

manager; (3) a foreman of the yarn preparation department and 
under him a foreman of warp winding, a foreman of weft winding, 
and a warping master; (4) a number of tenters, each of whom super- 
vises 50 to 70 looms. 

A few Irish weave sheds, including some of the largest, are at- 
tached to spinning mills, but the great majority are separate and 
independent concerns. Spinning mills sell their flax yarns in the 
hank, and this is the usual state in which it is received by the weave 
sheds, whether it comes to them direct from the spinning mill or 
after going to the bleachery. If the factory is connected with the 
spinning mill and the yarn is to be used only in the green condition, 
the warp may be received upon the spinning-frame bobbins and be 
dried after winding on tin warpers' spools ; some fine wefts are spun 
and dried upon perforated paper tubes in cop form, which saves both 
reeling and cop winding. 

The ordinary processes in a linen weave shed are as follows : Weft 
winding onto pirns or into cops for the shuttle; warp winding onto 
spools or into cheeses; beam warping; dressing; drawing in; weaving. 

WEFT AND WARP WINDING. 

There are several different types of weft-winding machines to 
prepare the yarn for the shuttle by winding either from the skein 
or the bobbin onto pirns or into cops. Coarse flax yarns are largely 
copped upon a bare spindle, and in weaving the end is drawn from 
the inside of the cop as it is firmly held in the shuttle. Fine flax 
yarns, however, such as are more usual at Belfast, are wound from 
the skein onto paper tubes or wooden pirns and the end draws off 
endAvise from the nose of the pirn. Because of the hard and slippery 
nature of flax, as compared with cotton or wool, the yarn must be 
wound under great tension and pressure to insure a good firm cop. 

The warp-yarn skeins are placed on swifts, or ryces, and each end 
is wound on a spool, or warper's bobbin, as it is frequently called. 
This machine is usually a surface drum winder with a slow thread 
guide traverse and the spools are driven by frictional contact with 
the surface of the drum upon which they lie. They are often fitted 
with stop motions, consisting of leather tongues that fall down 
between the spool and the drum and stop the revolution of a spool 
as soon as an end breaks. 

Some quantities of complicated striped warps are still produced 
by mill warping or by sectional warping, but in most linen mills 
beam warping is now the rule. Spools from the warp-winding ma- 
chine are placed in the V-shaped creel of this machine and a definite 
number of ends wound evenly on a warper's beam, which is sent to 
the dressing room. 

DRESSING. 

The cylinder dressing machine, the one most largely used in linen 
mills, has no cylinder, and gets its name from the cylindrical brushes 
that revolve and brush the yarn as it passes over them. The machine 
is made double ; warpers' beams containing the required number of 
ends are placed in supports at each end and the threads all meet in 
the middle and are wound on the same loom beam. Each sheet of 
yarn passes through a dressing trough containing the size mixture, 



46 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

then under a roller which keeps it down upon a revolving* brush; 
the latter, turning against the course of the yarn, helps to lay the 
fiber and level the dressing. It then passes over a steam chest con- 
taining a quick-running fan that forces air through the yarn to dry 
it, and in some cases it is subjected to the action of a brush satu- 
rated with irelted tallow. Then it passes over the measuring roller, 
to which is attached the color brush for marking the yarn at the 
end of each cut, and winds evenly with the opposite sheet upon the 
loom beam. These beams are drawn in by girls with reed hooks 
that draw the threads through reed and heddles, and are then sent to 
the loom. 

Various substances are used for dressing the yarn, such as flour, 
farina, starch, sago, and Irish moss, and each mill has a size mixture 
that it considers best for its particular work. Tallow is the usual 
softener and zinc chloride or chloride of magnesium the most usual 
deliquescents, these being even more essential in flax than in cotton 
sizing, as dressed linen yarn is more brittle and more quickly affected 
by a variation in the atmosphere. If the cloth is to be sold in its 
woven condition it is sometimes weighted considerably, but in most 
cases it goes to the bleach field, and the increase in weight due to size, 
which is used only for strengthening the warp and enabling it better 
to withstand the chafing of the reed and heddles, is 8 to 10 per cent. 

WEAVING. 

In the Irish weave sheds one finds both ifnderpick and overpick 
looms. Some* seem to prefer one and some the other, but the under- 
pick is much more in evidence in Ulster than in Lancashire. Many 
mills prefer it as giving a sharper pick with less jar of the loom 
frame and as being cleaner. The spindle on which the picker of the 
overpick loom moves must be oiled frequently, and if this is not care- 
fully done too much oil gets on, and it is thrown about by the action 
of the picker arm and is liable to spot the cloth. This can not occur 
on the underpick. The pickers used for the two types of loom are 
of quite different patterns; those required for the overpick loom are 
almost invariably of buffalo hide, while the underpick loom pickers 
are of cowhide. Automatic looms are little used in the linen trade, 
and those in use are mainly on union cloths with cotton warps. 

Looms on fine linens use self-acting temples, but in weaving coarse 
linens, such as canvas and heavy sheeting, they are frequently omitted; 
while in weaving wide cloths and damasks hand temples are very 
common. The hand temple consists of two wooden strips which are 
fitted together, very often* with a hinge, and which have sharp spikes, 
leather protected, at their outer and broader ends. These spikes are 
stuck in the cloth near the selvages and hold it out to width ; when a 
short length has been woven they are pulled up and moved forward 
nearer the fell. (Fig. 6.) 

Generally spealdng, linen cloths are figured as shrinking from 5 
to 10 per cent from the loom to the finishing state, 40 inches in the 
reed usually yielding 38 inches loom state and 36 inches finished, 
while a similar texture 80 inches in the reed usually }delds 77 inches 
loom state and 74 to 75 inches finished. Of course this is rather 
general, as the actual shrinkage depends on the weave or interlacing 
of the warp with the weft, the picks per inch, the size of the yarns. 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



47 




48 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

and the tension put on the warp during weaving and finishing. To 
allow for contraction, the warp that is laid in the dressing machine 
must be considerably longer than the piece of cloth it is desired to 
produce ; but the finishing processes tend to decrease the contraction 
in length and increase the contraction in width, as compared with 
the condition of the cloth as it comes from the loom. 

Linen yarn is much more brittle than cotton yarn and more affected 
by atmospheric changes, and owing mainly to this lack of elasticity 
linen looms can not be run at the high speeds customary with cotton 
looms. In Lancashire, plain cotton looms with 40-inch reed space run 
at 200 picks per minute and over. In Ulster, plain linen looms with 
40-inch reed space are usually considered to run 165 picks per minute, 
but in practice many do not attain this, while the widest looms, which 
are about 120 inches in width, run at only 80 picks per minute. 

METHOD OF STATING CONSTRUCTION. 

The construction of cotton cloth, the sley and pick, is usually stated 
in ends per quarter inch in England and in ends per inch in the 
United States. In the flax and jute trades the systems, or scales, for 
showing the spacing of the warp and weft are much more cumber- 
some and antiquated. 

The sett of the warp threads in linen manufacture is variously 

stated, but for the Irish linen trade the scale most generally adopted 

is based on the number of hundreds of splits in a 40-inch reed, sleyed 

two ends in a split. Thus an 8°° linen fabric means that there are 

800 splits or 1,600 threads in 40 inches of the reed, a 10° ° line fabric 

means that there are 1,000 splits or 2,000 threads in 40 inches of the 

reed, etc. ; this is irrespective of the actual width of the cloth. For 

finer sorts, in which there may be actually three, four, or more threads 

through each dent or split, the sett would increase pro rata. Thus, 

the usual sett of a fabric woven in a 10° ° reed 3 threads in a dent 

1000X3 
would be p-=15°° sett. 

The shots, or picks, put into the cloth in Irish linen weaving are 
reckoned by an equally cumbersome system. This pick scale is reck- 
oned on the number of picks, or shots, under a 37-inch glass, by which 
is meant a pick glass covering thirty-seven two-hundreclths (0.185) 
of an inch. 

As will be seen from the weavers' wage scales following, the con- 
struction of Irish linens is frequently expressed by the contracted 
method of 8/9, 9/10, etc. If a weaver is paid 25d. for weaving a 92- 
yard cut. of 38-inch green linen 8/9, it means that he is working on 
cloth that is woven through a 8°° reed, 40-inch scale (800 splits or 
1,600 warp ends in the standard reed width of 40 inches) and having 
9 shots on the 37/200 glass. Such cloth has 40 warp ends per inch 
(1,600 divided by 40) in the reed, while the picks inserted are equiva- 
lent to 48.6 (9 divided by 37/200) per inch. The construction of cot- 
ton cloth is stated in terms of ends per quarter inch or inch in the 
gray or finished condition, while the Irish linen scale shows only the 
fineness of the reed and the picks inserted in arbitrary distances. 

The bulk of the Irish linen cloth is sold in the bleached and fin- 
ished condition, and after weaving cloths are shipped to the bleach 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 49 

fields, which, from the nature of their work, are necessarily located 
in the country away from the smoke and dirt of the city and in prox- 
imity to a good supply of water and to grassy fields. 

BLEACHING AND FINISHING. 

Bleaching has always been an important part of the linen industry, 
and the bleach fields of Ireland, owing partly to the climate and 
partly to the inherited skill of the workers, are considered the best in 
the world. The Irish bleach is unexcelled and grassing can be car- 
ried on in Ireland the year round, so that a considerable quantity of 
linen is yearly sent there from Belgium, France, and Germany to be 
bleached and returned. 

Linen bleaching is a much more severe and tedious operation than 
cotton bleaching, owing to the greater amount of impurities con- 
tained in the flax fiber and its hard, impermeable nature. Cotton 
bleaching usually takes only a day or two, while linen bleaching takes 
about three weeks, and for some classes of goods considerably longer. 
The chief difficulty in bleaching flax lies in the brown substances, 
known as pectin bodies, contained in the fiber, which can not be de- 
stroyed by the unaided action of bleaching powder and require the 
assistance of the grass-bleaching process. 

In old days bleaching was most primitive ; the linen was boiled in 
lye made from burned seaweed, spread out in the fields to the action 
of the sun, air, and rain, then steeped in buttermilk, washed in pure 
water, and finished up. The process took some six months, but the 
bleached linen retained a much greater proportion of its strength 
than to-day, when the demand for a Avhiter finish and the increasing 
cost have necessitated greater use of chemicals and a shortening of the 
grassing process. It is a very common complaint to-day among 
housekeepers that linens are not so strong as formerly. Xo doubt, 
this is largely true, and it is due to the necessity of carrying the 
bleach farther to get the pure whiteness now so admired, and to the 
shortening of the process and greater use of chemicals, which in- 
creases the danger of tendering or rotting the fiber. While the bleach- 
ers admit this, they assert that much of the tendering is due to abuse 
the linen receives in modern laundries, which use various chemicals. 

MODERN BLEACHING METHODS. 

The modern method of bleaching linen in Ireland, as described by 
the head of one of the largest bleacheries, is as follows : The pieces of 
linen as they are received from the factory at the bleachery in the 
country are first marked at one end with red thread for identifica- 
tion. The mark shows the owner, weight, and cloth particulars and 
is written in with a sewing machine, though some are now experi- 
menting with a quicker process using indelible ink. These pieces, 
usually 140 in number, are stitched together end to end into one 
piece of over 10,000 yards. This is called a pot, and the value of a 
pot runs into thousands of dollars. The pot of cloth is first passed 
through a solution of lime into the boiling pot, and there boiled for 

13002°— No. 74—13 4 



50 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

8 or 10 hours. It is then drawn through a tank of water. The webs 
are unsewn and each one is bundled separately. They are washed in 
the wash mills with pure water for an hour, then steeped in a sour of 
dilute hydrochloric acid to convert the residue of the lime into a solu- 
ble salt ; washed again in the mills and boiled in soda lye, which com- 
bines with the waxes and fats in the fiber and makes them into soap 
and hence removable ; washed again, put on the grass for some days, 
boiled again in lye, washed, put on the grass, rubbed in soap and 
water, boiled in lye, washed, put on the grass, and so on, this process 
of alternate boiling, washing, and grassing being repeated several 
times, either in the same way or with variations according to the 
quality of the goods and the degree of whiteness desired. 

Apart from the repetition of the various operations and the re- 
course to grassing, the process of linen bleaching differs from that 
for cotton in that the goods are kept in motion during the treatment 
in the chemicking bath, and are subjected to friction between two 
fluted boards in order to get rid of particles of adherent brown 
matter. 

As soon as the linen is considered sufficiently boiled the whitening 
process is begun by the use of bleaching powder, or dip, in which 
the cloth is left overnight. It is washed, treated with weak sulphuric 
acid, and boiled again with soda lye, this process being repeated until 
the cloth is found to be of a proper whiteness. The webs are once 
more stitched together and the process of finishing begins. The cloth 
is breadthed, passed through a water mangle between rollers which 
leave just the proper moisture for taking starch, and then into and 
through a tank filled with a mixture of blue and starch, after 
which it is passed over heated rollers to dry it. The Avebs are once 
more unsewn ; they are then put on the beetling beams and beetled 
for 4 or 5 hours, turned on the beams and beetled for another 4 or 5 
hours, and so on until they have had 30 to 60 hours of beetling. They 
are then aired, stretched to the full width, and calendered. This 
completes the work of the bleacher, and the whole occupies from 3 
weeks for common goods up to 6 and in many cases 8 to 12 weeks for 
fine goods bleached to the highest degree of purity. 

For a long time the bleach fields were in operation only from March 
to September, but it was found that grassing could be carried on the 
year round, as a slight frost does not injure the goods, and only for 
very short periods is work interrupted by the weather. This gives 
Ireland a considerable advantage over the bleach fields of the Con- 
tinent. (Fig. 7.) 

BEETLING PROCESS DYEING AND FINISHING. 

The beetling process is a most important one in the finishing of 
linen and imparts to these fabrics their highly prized gloss. It is a 
stamping process, and the stamps consist of a toav of smooth, square- 
ended wooden rails which rise and fall with a bouncing action on 
the slowly revolving drum of linen. The lifting cams are mounted 
spirally on a wooden shaft, and as this revolves each cam in turn hits 
against a wooden projection on one of the stamps, lifting the stamp 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



51 







c 



52 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

vertically and then letting it fall. The cams striking the pins and 
the stamps bouncing on the hard rolls of cloth make a continuous 
roar. In some cases the stamps are fastened to metallic springs, and 
these stamps are more productive in quantity, but not in quality. In 
the calenders the linen receives its final touch, and these have rollers 
of brass, wood, rubber, etc., for giving various finishes. 

The bleach mills usually also dye and finish, and most of them are 
equipped with the best machinery. The rooms containing the dye 
vats usually have overhead ducts bringing in warm air. In other 
countries, where the mills attempt to remove the damp steam arising 
from the vats by suction fans, one is frequently not able to see across 
the room on account of moisture, but the system here used of intro- 
ducing warm air and thereby absorbing the moist steam as created 
gives a clear atmosphere and much better working conditions. 

The bleach mills handle cotton as well as linen, the bleaching 
processes, of course, being different; and quantities. of cotton goods 
are shipped from Manchester to Ulster and there bleached, dyed, or 
finished and put up ready for shipment and returned to the manu- 
facturers in Manchester. 

BLEACHING ASSOCIATION. 

Linen bleaching is not only a tedious but a risky business, for if 
not carefully watched the cloth is liable to be ruined at almost any 
stage of the process. The bleachers claimed that it had not been 
sufficiently remunerative and a few years ago formed in Ulster a 
close association to regulate prices and terms. 

The members of the association are John Adams & Co. (Ltd.), 
Banford Bleach Works Co. (Ltd.), The Bleachers' Association 
(Ltd.), Carey, McClellan & Co. (Ltd.), Anthony Cowdy & Sons, Wil- 
liam Ewart & Son (Ltd.), Dunadry Bleaching Co. (Ltd.), Frazer & 
Haughton (Ltd.), Glen Printing & Finishing Co. (Ltd.), Wm. 
Haig & Sons, S. J. Herd & Co., Inver Bleach & Dye Works (Ltd.), 
Kilwee Bleaching Co. (Ltd.), Wm. M. Kirk & Partners (Ltd.), 
Kirkpatrick Bros. (Ltd.), Lambeg Bleaching, Dyeing & Finishing- 
Co. (Ltd.), Lisnafillan Bleaching, Dyeing & Finishing Co. (Ltd.), 
Lumsden & Mackenzie, James Burt-Marshall (Ltd.), J. & Gr. 
Marshall, R. & D. Martin, James Murland (Ltd.), H. J. McBride & 
Sons (Ltd.), Jas. Mclnnes & Sons (Ltd.), Old Park Print Works Co. 
(Ltd.), J. N. Richardson, Sons & Owden (Ltd.), Wm. Smyth & Co. 
(Ltd.), Ralph W. Stewart & Co., Sullatober Bleaching & Print 
Works Co. (Ltd.), Uprichard & Lindsay (Ltd.), J. T. & H. Up- 
richard, Walkerton Bleaching Co. (Jas. Livingston), Whiteabbey 
Bleaching Co. (Ltd.), Whitewell Finishing. Co., York Street Flax 
Spinning Co. (Ltd.). 

There follows the price list of this association, issued August 20, 
1913, effective January 1. 1913. 






LINEN INDUSTKY IN IBELAND 



53 



REVISED PRICE LIST FOR BLEACHING AND FINISHING LINEN AND 

OTHER GOODS. 

Note. — This list applies to all goods received for treatment on and after 
January 1. 1913. The prices in this list are subject to a discount of 5 per cent, 
except for damask, diaper, canvas, and cambric goods, which are net. 

Green Yarn Power Loom Linens and Unions. 



Width, in inches. 



Unions not exceeding 16°° and 
weighing, per 100 square 
yards, not over — 



32 lbs. 


38 lbs. 


Pence. 


Pence. 


i 


5 


2 


8 






16 


16 




3 


8 


* 




IS 


16 


-T6" 


15 
16 


1A 


iiV 


1A 


1& 


x 16 


1A 


•'le 


If 


■••8 


2 


•^8 


2i 


23- 

■^8 


2f 


2! 


3 


3i 


3i 


3f 



Linens not exceeding 16° ° and 
weighing, per 100 square 
yards, not over — 



32 lbs. 


38 lbs. 


44 lbs. 


Pence. 


Pence. 


Pence. 


5 


3 


7 


8 


* 


8 


3 

4. 


8 


1 


IS 




ijfV 


16 


T6" 


7 
8 


1 


1* 


li 


it 


If 


It 


if 


is 


1* 


i^ 

x 8 


Il- 
ia 


If 


11 


2| 


11 


2 


2i 


2| 


2} 


2| 


2§ 


2| 


2| 


2| 


2| 


3£ 


3i 


31 


4 


4 


4i 


5 



50 lbs. 



Not over 25 

Over 25 and not over 30. . 
Over 30 and not over 35. . 
Over 35 and not over 39. . 
Over 39 and not over 43. . 
Over 43 and not over 48. . 
Over 48 and not over 54 . . 
Over 54 and not over 58. . 
Over 58 and not over 68 . . 
Over 68 and not over 77. . 
Over 77 and not over 86 . . 
Over 86 and not over 98. . 
Over 98 and not over 108 . 
Over 108 and not over 117 



Pence. I Pence. 



1-S_ 
1 16 
1-5- 

1-2- 

1 16 
IIS 
±TS 
2 

2* 
2| 
H 

3f 

4 



T6" 

2-1- 

•^16 

2i 

2f 

3 

3i 

41 

4| 



Pence. 
1 
11 

IrV 
li 

14 
if 

2i 
2§ 
2i 

n 

3i 
4 
5 
6 



17°° and upward not exceeding 48 inches, £d. per yard extra ; not exceeding 
77 inches, id. per yard extra ; not exceeding 117 inches, ^d. per yard extra. 

4/4 Boiled Yarn Linens. 



Pence per yard. 



Up to 
and in- 
cluding 

20°°. 



Above 20 c 



Light power loom: 

Square and under square 

One shot over square 

Two shots over square 

Hand loom " Ballymenas " 

Light medium and Continental linens. 

Medium linens 

Heaw mediums 



4:d. per yard extra, 
•id. per yard extra. 



All 7/8 linens not exceeding 34 inches wide, id. per yard less than 4/4; all 
3/4 linens not exceeding 30 inches wide, id. per yard less than 4/4. 

As to the first three items in the preceding table, all 9/8 linens not exceeding 
43 inches and 5/4 linens not exceeding 48 inches will be charged id. and Id. per 
yard, respectively, more than the above prices. 

For definitions of light power loom, light medium, medium, and heavy medium, 
see scale on page 57. 

Fractions of a shot will be treated as one shot. 

4/4 Interlinings. 



Green yarn linen, 2^d. per pound. Boiled yarn linen, 3d. per pound. Green 
warp and boiled weft or vice versa, 2fd. per pound. Union interlinings, 2|d. per 
pound. No linens or unions over 9 00 taken as interlinings. 



54 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



Light Boiled Yarn Linens for Embroidery Finish. 

Note.— Confined to 13°°, 14°°, 15°°, and 16 00 ; not exceeding 33 pounds per 100 
square yards. 



Width, in inches. 


Pence 
per yard. 


Width, in inches. 


Pence 
per yard. 


Not over 29 


I 

i 

8 
1 

U 

if 


Over 58 and not over 68 


2 


Over 29 and not over 34 


Over 68 and not over 77 


2| 


Over 34 and not over 38 


Over 77 and not over 86. . 


Over 38 and not over 43 


Over 86 and not over 98 34, 

Over 98 and not over 108 . 4 


Over 43 and not over 48 


Over 48 and not over 54 


Over 108 and not over 117 . . 5 


Over 54 and not over 58 











Boiled Yarn Pillow Linens and Sheetings. 



Width, in inches. 



Not exceeding 12° ° and weighing per 
100 square yards not over— 



35 
lbs. 



40 
lbs. 



45 
lbs. 



50 
lbs. 



55 
lbs. 



60 
lbs. 



13°° to 16°° and 
weighing — 



37 
lbs. 



43 
lbs. 



Over 

43 

lbs. 



Over 
16°°. 



Not over 25 

Over 25 and not over 29 . . 
Over 29 and not over 34. . 
Over 34 and not over 38 . . 
Over 38 and not over 43 . . 
Over 43 and not over 45 . . 
Over 45 and not over 48. . 
Over 48 and not over 50. . 
Over 50 and not over 54 . 
Over 54 and not over 59 . . 
Over 59 and not over 6.8 . . 
•Ovf r 68 and not over 77. . 
Over 77 and not over 87. . 
Over 87 and not over 98. . 
Over 98 and not over 108. 
Over 108 and not over 118 
Over 118 and not over 126 
Over 126 and not over 135 
Over 135 and not over 153 



1 

n 

it 
11 

if 

II 

2 

2} 
2| 
3 

H 

4 
41 

6 
8 
9 



d. 
1 

n 
n 

H 

if 
if 

2 

2J 

2i 

24 

3" 

si 

4-1 
4f 
Si 
61 
84 
11 



li 
If 
li 
If 
If 

2 

2i 

2| 

2| 

3 

31 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 
10 
12 



d. 



l a 
12 
2 

^8 

2i 

21 

3 

34 

4" 

Al. 

54 

6§ 

8 

9 
11 
14 



d. 



2 
21 
2i 
2§ 

3 
3i 

3* 

4 

4i 

51 

6* 

n 

9 
10 
12 
15 



2| 
2f 

2J 

23 

Z 4 

3 
31- 

H 
3f 

41 

5 

6 

8 
10 
11 
12 . 
14 
18 



n 
if 
if 
if 

2§ 

2* 

3 
34 

5 

6 

7 

9 
11 
14 



li 
If 

13 

2~ 
2 

21 

24 

3" 

3i 

4 

5 

6 

71 

9 

11 

13 

16 



II 

2* 

21 

2J 

3 

31 

41 

*2 

5 
6 
6 



9 
10 
12 
14 

18 



24 
21 
3* 
3* 

4 

4 

41 

5 

61 

74 

81 

94 

12" 

14 

17 

20 

24 



The prices above quoted are per yard. 

These prices will be charged for 9°° and 10°° three pounds heavier than above 
weights. The above prices apply to all goods of this class the yarns of which 
(warp or weft, or both) have been boiled or treated in any way. 

Tubular linens and unions (green, boiled, or bleached yarn), 33^ per cent 
extra. 

Damasks— Power Loom. 



Net price 

pel square 

vaid. 



Cotton damask 

Power-loom light linen damask, under 41 ounces per square yard (finished), and all union 

damasks 

Power-loom medium linen damask, over 41 ounces per square yard (finished), counting under 

165 threads per square inch (giay) 

Power-loom fine linen damask, over 44 ounces per square yard (finished) ana 165 threads and 
upward per square inch (gray): 

Not over 77 inches 

Over 77 and not over 96 inches 

Over 96 and not ovei 115 inches 

Over 115 inches 

Power-loom medium linen damask napkins, not over 30 inches wide, over 41 ounces per 

square yard (finished), and under 200 threads per square inch 

Power-loom fine linen damask napkins, not over 30 inches wide, over 41 ounces per square 
yard (finished) , and 200 threads and upward per square inch 



Pence. 



1 
11 

u 

n 

if 
11 
2* 

11 

14 



Fine linen crest, lettered and bndged goods. £d. per squnre yard extra. 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 
Damasks — Hand Loom. 



00 





Net price, 
per yard. 




Net price, 
per yard. 


Double damask: 

4/8 not over 18 inches 


s. d. 
.. 1 
-- U 
-- H 
-- i§ 
-- if 
-- 2i 
-- 2f 
.. 3 
.. 3i 


Double damask — Continued. 

8/4 over 68 and not over 77 inches 

9/4 over 77 and not over 86 inches 

10/4 over 86 and not over 98 inches... 
11/4 over 98 and not over 104 inches . 
12/4 over 104 and not over 115 inches. 
13/4 over 115 and not over 125 inches. 
14/4 over 125 and not over 136 inches. 
16/4 over 136 and not over 154 inches. 
20/4 over 154 and not over 190 inches. 


a. d. 
4 


5/8 over 18 and not over 24 inches 

3/4 over 24 and not over 29 inches 

7/8 over 29 and not over 34 inches 

4/4 over 34 and not over 39 inches 

9/8 over 39 and not over 44 inches 

5/4 over 44 and not over 49 inches 

6/4 over 49 and not over 58 inches 


5 
.. 6 
.. 7 
.. 8 
.. 10 
1 

1 6 

2 



Single damask, l|d. per square yard. 

Damask from white yarn to Barnsley silver, or under white finish, Id. per 
square yard. 

Mercerized cotton damask, l^d. per square yard. 

Diapers. 

Linen. l£d. net per square yard. Union, Id. net per square yard. Cotton, fd. 
net per square yard. 

Linen Handkerchiefs. 

Hand loom. — 18-inch. 3fd. per dozen ; 20/20|-inch, 4d. per dozen ; 21/22|-inch, 
4*d. per dozen ; 24-inch, 5d. iier dozen ; 26-inch, 6d. per dozen ; 28-inch, 7d. per 
dozen. 

Power looms and unions, 4d- per dozen less than foregoing. 





18 
inches. 


20| 
inches. 


22i 
inches. 


24 
inches. 


26 
inches. 


28 
inches. 


Refinishing linen handkerchiefs, per 
dozen 


Pence. 

n 

1 
1* 


Pence. 
1 


Pence. 
2 

H 
2" 


Pence. 
2i 

1-? 
2i 


Pence. 
2f 

2 
2f 


Pence. 
3 


Linen handkerchiefs returned to be made 

rough for printing per dozen. . 

If rough breadthed do 


21 
3 



Goods bleached rough for printing are subject to an extra discount of 20 
per cent. 

Linen handkerchiefs taken from finished stock and delivered rough, not 
breadthed, 6d. per piece extra. 

Bleached Yarn' Linens and Unions. 



Width, in inches. 


Pence 

per yard. 


Width, in inches. 


Pence 
per yard. 


Width, in inches. 


Pence 
per yard. 


25 


i 

5 

7 

8 
1 

1| 


48 

50 


If 
11 

2 




2k 


32 


86 

96 

108 


3 


38 


53 

57 

68 


4 


43 


5 


45 


117 .. 


6 









56 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 
Cambric and Union Cambric Handkerchiefs. 



Size, in inches. 



Bleaching 
and finish- 
ing. 



Finishing 

without 

guarantee. 



Rough for 
printing. 



Bleached 

and 
breadthed 

for 
printing. 



Not over 14 per dozen. 

Over 14 and not over 17 do. . . 

Over 17 and not over 20 do. . . 

Over 20 and not over 23 do. . . 

Over 23 and not over 26 do... 

Over 26 and not over 28 do. . . 

Over 28 and not over 30 do. . . 

Over 30 and not over 33 do. . . 

Over 33 and not over 36 do. . . 



Pence. 
3 

3| 
4i 
4f 
5i 
6 
7 
10 
12 



Pence. 



if 

2 

2| 
2| 
2| 

3 

4 



Pence. 
U 
2" 
2\ 
2i 
2f 

, 4" 
6 
10 



Pence. 



n 

2* 
2| 
2f 
3 
4 
5 
7 
12 



Prices quoted in table are net. 

Two in width, |d., and three in width id. per dozen less. 

Plain Cambric, Corded Plains, Sheer Plains, Cords, Union Cambrics, and 

Sheers. 



Width, in inches. 



Not over 28 per yard . 

Over 28 and not over 34 do. . . 

Over 34 and not over 38 do 

Over 38 and not over 42 do 

Over 42 and not over 45 do 

Over 45 and not over 50 do 

Over 50 and not over 54 do 

Over 54 and not over 56 do 



Rough for 
printinL' . 



Pence. 



Bleached 

and 
breadthed. 



Pence. 



Close hem- 
stitch finish 
without 
beetling. 



Pence. 



1A 



Bleached 

and beetle 

finished. 



Pence. 



TS 

1* 
li 
If 
1* 

II 



Prices quoted in table are net. 

Boiled yarn lawns to be id. per yard more than the plain cambric lists. 

Corded plains, with a cross border, ifed. per yard more than the plain-cambric 
list. 

No risk taken save as to strength and color. 

Dip supplied to customers to be charged 2s. per bottle net. 

Bleached plains, prepared for printing, 27 inches wide, |d. per yard: 34 to 
44 inches, fd. per yard ; over 44 inches, id. per yard. 

Prints up to 34 inches, starched, breadthed, and calendered, 15d. per piece; 
over 34 inches, 18d. per piece. 

Goods ordered and finished with hemstitch finish and subsequently changed 
to beetle finish shall be charged the original hemstitch-finish price and the dif- 
ference in price between hemstitch finish and beetle finish plus iVd. 

Plains delivered bleached rough and then returned for beetle finish : Up to 
34 inches, ^d. per yard; over 34 and not over 42 inches, fd. per yard; over 
42 inches, id. per yard. 

Plain Cambrics, Cleared and Refinished. 

Beetle finish, up to 34 inches- wide, fd. per yard ; over 34 and not over 42 
inches wide, id. ; over 42 inches wide, f d. 

H. S. finish, up to 34 inches wide, id. per yard ; over 34 and not over 42 inches 
wide, fd. ; over 42 inches wide, id. 

Linen and Union Canvas. 

Not exceeding 28 inches wide, fd. net per yard; over 28 and not over 34 
inches wide, iJd. net per yard; over 34 inches wide, ild. net per yard. 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IEELAND. 
Prices for Refinishing, Change of Finish, Etc. 



57 



39 inches 
and un- 
der. 



40 to 58 
inches. 



59 to 76 
inches. 



77 to 96 
inches. 



Linens and unions previously finished to instructions and sub- 
sequently changed to any different finish charged extra, per 
yard . . . ." 

Linens and unions returned to bleacher for change of finish, per 
yard 

Linens and unions cleaned and refinished per yard. 

Linens and unions returned for refinishing if not bleached at the 
green to which they are returned per yard . 



Pence. 



Pence. 



Pence. 



Pence. 



n 
n 

i! 



4/4 linen and unions : High button finish, |d. per yard extra ; refinished, high 
button finish, f d. per yard ; cleared and refinished, high button finish, fd. per 
yard; bleached rough for printing, £d. per yard less than finished price. 

For all goods which, in the absence of any instructions for finishing, have to 
be dried out or held over to await instructions an additional charge will be 
made as follows : 39 inches wide and under, £d. per yard ; 40 to 58 inches wide, 
id. per yard ; 59 to 76 inches wide, id- per yard ; 77 to 90 inches wide, l|d. 
per yard. 

Goods returned " at width " for crisping to be charged 4d. per piece. 

Goods washed and beetled, |d. per square yard; shrunk and beetled, fd. per 
square yard; shrunk only, ^d. per square yard; beetled only, |d. per square 
yard. 

Lapping and papering linens and sheetings, 5d. per piece of 50 to 60 yards; 
3d. per half piece. Where packing cases are supplied they will be charged at 
3M. per superficial foot. 

4/4 Boiled Yarn Linens. 

[Scale referred to on page 53.] 



- ' 


Weight not exceeding per 100 square yards. 


Warp construction. 


Light 
power 
loom. 


Light 
medium. 


Medium. 


Heavy 
medium. 


9"o 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 
36 
35 

3iti 

33J 

33i 

32 

31! 

30 

30 

29 

29 

28 


Pounds. 
41 
40i 
39i 
38i 
37 
36i 
35i 
34 
32i 
32 
31 
30 


Pounds. 


IO00 




44 


lioo 






12oo 




42 


1300 




41 


1400 




38! 


1500 


29J 

28i 

28J 

28 

28 

27 


38| 


1600 


38! 


17°o 


36 


I800 


35 


19oo 


33| 


2000 


32! 





Terms and Conditions. 



All goods covered by the foregoing price list are received on and subject to 
the following terms and conditions : 

1. No responsibility for tendering will be entertained in respect of goods 
made from bleached yarns. 

2. Goods ready for delivery up to and including the 20th of the month 
shall be paid for in cash, or its equivalent, on the 4th of the following month, 
whether the customer shall have actually taken delivery or not, and interest 
at the rate of 5 per cent per annum will be charged on all accounts not so 
paid. 



58 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

3. The bleacher will pay the carriage to and from the customer's premises, 
except in the case of Continental goods, and in respect of those the bleacher 
will not be liable for or pay carriage, except between his works and the port of 
landing in Ireland. 

4. The bleacher will not be responsible or liable for (a) delay in returning 
goods from the bleach from whatever cause arising; (b) any damage to goods 
or claims in respect of color or finish of which written notice shall not have 
been given to the bleacher within one calendar month from date of delivery. 

5. In case of damage for which the bleacher is responsible, no claim shall 
be made or will be entertained in respect of piece goods where the damages in 
one piece are five in number, except in the case of damask piece goods, where 
the damages in any one piece must exceed three in number. No claim for 
piece goods will be entertained or be provable if the ends be cut off. In all 
cases the goods alleged to be damaged must be produced to the bleacher for 
inspection, otherwise no claim can be entertained or enforced, except in the 
case of damask cloth, napkins, and towels, when the production of the dam- 
aged portions, together with the ends, will be sufficient compliance with this 
condition. 

6. Where the goods damaged are to be retained by the bleacher, the damages 
shall be settled on the basis of the brown prices of the day on which the goods 
were ready to be delivered. 

7. All differences and disputes shall be settled by arbitration, each party 
naming an arbitrator. Arbitration shall be a condition precedent to any pro- 
ceedings at law. Each arbitration shall conform to the provisions as to arbi- 
tration contained in the common-law procedure amendment (Ireland) act, 
1856, or any statutory modification thereof. 

8. All goods are subject to a general lien, not only for bleaching and finishing 
but for all liabilities of the customer to the bleacher, including liabilities which 
the bleacher may be under to others for the customer. 

9. Where the price is calculated on the basis of the square yard, the yard shall 
be taken as 36 inches brown width and 37 inches lineal. 

10. No discounts, allowances, drawbacks, inducements, or gratuities will be 
given or allowed, either to principals or their agents, employees, or any other 
person, save the discount provided for by this list. 

WAREHOUSE WORK. 

As previously noted, flax is grown, retted, and scutched in the 
country; sent to the town to be hackled, prepared, and spun into 
yarn in the mill and woven into cloth in the factory ; then sent back 
to the country to be bleached and finished. Finally it is sent to the 
city warehouse to be ornamented and made up and shipped. The 
term warehouse, as used in the textile trades of the United Kingdom, 
does not refer solely to a place of storage, but to a place where goods 
are prepared for the market in various ways. 

In the Belfast warehouses the cloth from the bleach fields is 
inspected and any defects are remedied. Cloth to be shipped in the 
piece is lapped or folded, with or without colored tissue paper inter- 
lining, stamped or ticketed, each piece wrapped in glazed paper, and 
cased and marked for shipment. The cases are well made, usually 
having a wooden batten around the middle on all four sides and iron 
ties around the edges at each end. Methods of putting up cloth varj 7 
with different classes of goods and the customs of the countries to 
which they are shipped. Each country not only requires certain 
makes of cloth, but in shipping the same make the width of the 
cloth, the number of folds, the kind and color of wrapping paper, 
the style of tickets, etc., must be such as are in demand there. The 
width and general make-up of goods for Paris, for instance, may be 
entirely different from that required in the United States if they are 
to be salable. 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IEELAND. 59 

Making up and shipping piece goods constitute only a small por- 
tion of the work of the warehouse. Cloth for handkerchiefs, center- 
pieces, table covers, etc., are torn into the correct sizes and hem- 
stitched, threads drawn, embroidered with initials or designs in white 
or colors, or ornamented in various ways. In the large warehouses 
there are rooms full of girls — sometimes hundreds — working sewing- 
machines of the various types employed for different styles of orna- 
mentation; a few of the warehouses also have hand embroidery ma- 
chines worked by pantograph on the Swiss system. 

OUTWORKERS. 

In connection with the warehouse system considerable material is 
given out to be worked at home. This is a very extensive business 
and no report on the Irish-linen trade would be complete without 
some reference to it. In finishing and making up linen goods, as in 
every other stage of production, the industry is one that seems to 
thrive only with very cheap labor. The rates for outworkers are 
particularly low. The small pay that most of these people receive and 
their long working hours, which proved injurious to health and led 
to neglect of the home by mothers of families (who constitute the 
majority of the workers), finally became so notorious that in 1911 the 
British Government appointed a departmental committee to inquire 
into the conditions of work and methods of payment. 

This committee reported in 1912 that, though complete statistics 
as to their number were lacking, the outworkers evidently exceeded 
those employed in making up in the factories and workshops. The 
latest returns from the factories and workshops in the linen trade of 
Ireland are for 1907, and they showed that the workers in the ware- 
house, or making-up end of the industry, numbered about 22,000. 
It was computed that the outworkers in Belfast alone numbered some 
3,400, and in Lurgan about 1,400, only estimates being obtained for 
other centers. Outworkers are to be found not only in Belfast, Lur- 
gan, and Londonderry, but in the neighborhood of Portadown, New- 
townards, Maghera, Strabane, Buncrana, Donegal, and a great 
number of other urban and rural districts throughout Ulster, in some 
of which outwork is done in almost every cottage. 

The outworkers in Belfast are described as widows and spinsters 
dependent upon the work for their livelihood, married women whose 
husbands are out of work, and women whose husbands are earning 
small pay. There are a few in better circumstances who work for 
pocket money ; the larger section do it to supplement small pay. In 
the country districts they are mainly the wives and daughters of 
small farmers and agricultural laborers; in some families the women 
spend part of their time working on the farm and in the fields; in 
others one or two women devote themselves wholly to sewing or em- 
broidery and the rest are employed out of doors or in housework. 

PRINCIPAL PROCESSES IN MAKING UP. 

Making-up work in Belfast and neighboring towns consists 
mainly in the production of linen and cotton household articles, 
handkerchiefs, and wearing apparel other than ladies' underclothing. 
The embroidery of these articles is also carried on in Belfast, as well 
as in numerous country districts in Counties Down, Antrim, Tyrone, 



60 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

Londonderry, Donegal, and Fermanagh. In the city of Londonderry 
and in the adjacent districts of Counties Londonderry, Donegal, and 
Tyrone the work comprises the manufacture of shirts, collars, and 
ladies' underclothing. 

The principal processes in tne making-up work are as follows: 
Broad and narrow hemming, thread drawing, vice folding, paring, 
hemstitching, top-sewing or overseaming, thread clipping, lace at- 
taching, lace undercutting or clipping, scalloping, nickeling, embroid- 
ering, spoking, fancy sewing (drawn-thread work), machine stitch- 
ing of linen and cotton apparel and household articles, buttonholing, 
sewing on buttons, collar running and turning. The principal mar- 
ket for much of the Belfast and Lurgan work appears to be the 
United States. 

The method of distributing material to outworkers depends on 
where they live. In the towns it is usually given out from the 
warehouse, either to the outworkers themselves or to their children, 
who carry it home and bring it back when finished. In the country 
it is distributed by agents from a shop, an office, or some spot where 
the agent arranges to meet the workers. Employment in the making- 
up trades is more or less continuous the year round, but the busiest 
period seems to be that preceding Easter. The handling to which 
the goods are subjected in the warehouse and in the homes necessarily 
soils the goods somewhat, so the warehouses maintain complete 
steam laundries, where the finished work is thoroughly washed, dried, 
ironed, and prepared for the final folding and packing. 

EARNINGS OF OUTWORKERS. 

It is estimated that about $1,250,000 is paid in wages annually to 
workers in the Ulster cottage embroidery industry. The outworkers 
have no organization of any kind, and the pay is very small, but this 
work is the sole livelihood of thousands and furnishes a welcome addi- 
tion to the small family earnings of thousands of others. The com- 
mittee divides the workers whose cases they investigated into classes 
earning Id., 2d., 3d., 4d., 5d., and 6d. an hour. They found extremely 
few cases of the higher rates being paid. In the thread drawing and 
machine stitching, for instance, they decided that the largest number 
of workers earned between Id. and 2d. an hour, and in thread clip- 
ping as earning under Id. (2 cents) an hour; in embroidery the bulk 
of the workers earned one of the three lowest rates. Many instances 
were found of women employed on work the rate of pay for which 
was such that they could not make a half penny (1 cent) an hour, 
and their remuneration was less than 15 cents a day. In addition to 
women and girls it was found that a large number of young children 
were steadily employed in the homes, chiefly in thread clipping and 
drawing. 

Irish hand-embroidery work is known the world over, but it 
appeared from the evidence that the hand-embroidery industry in 
Ulster not only has to face keen competition from machine em- 
broidery made in Irish factories and in SAvitzerland but from hand 
embroidery worked in Japan and from Belgian and Japanese drawn- 
thread work. 

No legal action has yet followed the recommendations of the com- 
mittee, but the resultant publicity has in many instances forced the 
manufacturers to grant a slight increase in the pay for home work. 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



6] 



OPERATIVES AND WAGES. 

Of the 100,475 operatives engaged in the linen industry in the 
United Kingdom in 1907, the latest year for which complete statistics 
are available, 67,027 were employed in Ireland. In 1904 it was found 
that 62.194 out of a grand total of 95,950 were employed in Irish 
mills. This takes no account of the home workers, of whom no enu- 
meration was attempted. Over two-thirds of these operatives were 
women and girls. Men formed only about 20 per cent of the total, 
and most of them were foremen, roughers, sorters, weavers, mechanics, 
and laborers. A great majority of the weavers are women, though 
there are proportionately more men weavers in the country districts 
of Ireland than in the mills in Belfast, The number of half-timers 
in the industry is steadily decreasing. 

In Belfast itself, the census of 1911 showed that a total of 29,626 
workers were employed in the linen mills, of whom 6,253 were males 
and 23,373 females. In the spinning processes 14,049 were employed, 
of whom 2,736 were males and 11,313 females; in weaving processes, 
10.833. of which 1,569 were males and 9,264 females; in other proc- 
esses, 4,744, of whom 1,948 were males and 2,796 females. Most of 
those shown as engaged in other processes are employed in warehouse 
work. 

NUMBER OF OPERATIVES. 

The total number of operatives in Irish linen mills has been recorded 
by the Government as follows: 



Years. 


Operatives. 


Years. 


Operatives. 


Years. 


Operatives. 


1835 


3,681 

9,017 

17,088 

21, 121 

28,753 


1862 


33,525 
57,050 
55,039 
60,316 
56,342 


1885.. 


61, 749 


1839 


1868 


1890... 


64, 475 


1847 


1870 


1895 

1904 


66,113 


1850 


1874 


62, 194 


1856 


1878 


1907 


67,027 











GENERAL AVERAGE OF WAGES. 



The manufacture of linen is essentially a low-wage industry, and 
wages in the linen trade of the United Kingdom average lower than 
in any other textile trade, not even excepting the much lower-priced 
jute. The latest figures are those for 1906, which showed that linen 
operatives averaged 12s.,, or $2.92, a week, since which time there 
have been raises in certain sections of the industry that make the 
present average about 12s. 6d., or $3.04. 

In the mills the foremen, enginemen and stokers, general laborers, 
warehousemen and packers, manglers and calenders, all of whom are 
men. are paid by time. Tacklers are usually paid by time, with a 
bonus on the wages earned by the weavers. Some of the men bundlers 
and driers, dressers, and bleachers are paid by time and some by the 
piece. The boy fillers, or machine boys on the hackling machines, 
are also paid by the week. Men roughers and sorters are paid by the 
piece. Women and girls in the preparing room — line spreaders, tow 
carders, drawers, back minders, and roving hands — are paid entirely 
by time. Spinners are paid by time, as are the other women and girls 
in the spinning room. Heelers and winders are paid by the piece. 



62 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

Weavers, whether men or women, are always paid by the piece, ex- 
cept in a few instances of special work. In the warehouse the ma- 
jority of the women and girls are paid by the piece, except in certain 
cases where the nature of the work makes time payment necessary. 

WAGES FOR ROUGHING AND HACKLING. 

The first process in the mill is that of roughing. The rougher, an 
able-bodied man, pulls the flax handful by handful through a hackle 
of strong vertical teeth to disentangle the fibers and to separate the 
longer fibers that are to go through the linen processes from the 
shorter ones that remain as tow. . The standard production is con- 
sidered to be 2 hundredweight, or 224 pounds, per day, and this is 
paid for by the piece. In Belfast the Government figures showed 
that roughers in 1886 averaged 18s. 6d. ($4.50) per week and in 1900. 
21s. 8d. ($5.27). There is no uniform scale, but the secretary of the 
flax roughers union stated that the usual Belfast rate is now (1913) 
2s. 3d. per hundredweight (55 cents per 112 pounds) for roughing 
Irish flax, and 2s. per hundredweight (49 cents per 112 pounds) for 
roughing Baltic and similar foreign flaxes. The ordinar}- good 
rougher, he stated, averages about 25s. ($6.08) a week, while those 
in the country, who are paid a somewhat lower rate, average about 
2s. less a week. 

In the next process, that of machine hackling, the pieces of flax 
are disentangled and paralleled and the shorter fibers combed out as 
tow. A pair of single machines, requiring four machine boys, or a 
combined machine, requiring only one machine boy, turns off from 
3,000 to 6,000 pounds of hackled flax per week of 55J hours, the pro- 
duction depending on the speed and on the size of the pieces hackled. 
With four boys the weekly Avage for each is usually from Ts. 6d. to 
10s. ($1.83 to $2.43), while the one boy on the newer double machine 
is usually paid from 8s. 6d. ($2.07) to as high as 12s. ($2.92) per 
week. 

SORTERS AND SPREADERS. 

The sorters, who do work similar to but finer than the roughers, 
and who sort the hackled flax into as many qualities or lengths of 
line as may be required, are always men and they are usually paid 
by the piece, the rate varying at different mills with the quality of 
the material. The Government figures showed that Belfast sorters 
in 1886 averaged 23s. Id. ($5.62) per week and in 1906, 26s. 3d. 
($6.39). The secretary of the hacklers union stated that the ordinary 
good sorter in his union now counted on making about 30s. 6d. ($8.94) 
per week, while those in the country made about 29s. ($7.06). 

In the preparing room the women who lay the pieces of line on 
the feed aprons of the spreading machines to form continuous slivers 
are called spreaders. The spreaders, the drawing-frame tenders and 
back minders, and the roving hands are all paid by time, and usually 
receive the same wages, though the spreader is sometimes paid a 
trifle more than the others if she has to weigh the pieces before put- 
ting them on. In Belfast the average wages of preparing-room 
women were shown by the Government to have been 6s. lOd. ($1.66) 
in 1886 and 9s. 4d. ($2,27) in 1906. To-dav their wages run from 
10s. to 13s. ($2.43 to $3.16), but average about 12s. ($2.92) a week. 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 63 

SPINNING ROOM. 

Spinning frames formerly had 85 to 100 spindles a side, but have 
been increased in length until some now have as many as 170 spindles ; 
speeds also have been greatly increased. Spinners usually run a side, 
varying from, say, 104 spindles on coarse work up to 170 spindles 
on very fine work, using wet spinning. Full-time doffers are girls 
from 12 years of age upward, who work in gangs under a doffing 
mistress. In some cases there is a layer, whose work is to attach 
the roving to the spindle, and sometimes there are employed spare 
hands called piecers, as well as spinners. A child on entering the 
spinning room may begin as a eager, or basket carrier, and be pro- 
moted successively to the rank of doffer, layer, piecer, and spinner. 
All are paid by the week. The Belfast spinners in 1886 were found 
to average 8s. 5d. ($2.05) a week and in 1906, 10s. 5d. ($2.54). The 
ordinary rate is now lis. to 12s. ($2.68 to $2.92) a week. In one of 
the very largest spinning mills I found that the doffing mistresses 
were paid 13s. 9cl. ($3.35) a week; half-time cagers, 3s. 3d. ($0,79) ; 
full-time doffers, 9s. 3d. ($2.25), and half-time doffers, of course, half 
as much; layers, 10s. ($2.43) ; piecers, lis. ($2.68); spinners, lis. 
($2.68) plus a bonus of 6d. (12 cents) if they lost no time. Half- 
timers work in the mill and attend school alternate days, but their 
number is decreasing. 

Heelers are paid by the hundred hanks, according to the counts of 
varn reeled. In 1886 the Belfast reelers were found to average 
8s. lid. ($2.17), and in 1906, lis. 3d. ($2.74), but they now average 
about 12s. ($2.92) a week. 

The drying and bundling of the reeled skeins is done by men, some 
of whom are paid by time and some by piece rates, the former usually 
receiving about 21s. ($5.11), and the latter making about 27s. 6d. 
($5.69) a week. 

Of the men employed in the spinning mill the foremen of the 
hackling room and the foremen of the spinning room receive about 
the same wages, from 30s. to 45s. ($7.30 to $8.42) a week, according 
to the work and the size of the mill; the foremen of the preparing 
room are usually paid slightly less. Mechanics get about 36s. ($8.76) 
a week, enginemen and stokers from 20s. to 30s. ($4.87 to $7.30), 
and general laborers from 15s, to 20s. ($3.65 to $4.87). 

WEAVING FACTORY. 

In the weaving factory tacklers are usually paid by time, with a 
bonus on the wages earned by the weavers under their care. They 
usually supervise 50 to 70 looms, the number depending on the kind 
of loom and the character of the weave shed. In Belfast they make 
from 30s. ($7.30) up to as high as 60s. ($14.60) a week. Some of 
the men who run the dressing machines are paid by time and some 
by the piece, and they make from 36s. to 50s. ($8.76 to $12.16) a week. 
The yarn is usually received in the weave shed in the form of hanks, 
and the weft has to be wound onto pirns for the shuttle, while the 
warp has to be wound onto spools for the beam warper. Dressing 
is men's work, but winding and warping and drawing in are done by 
women and girls. Most of the weavers are women, who run two 



64 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



looms each, and are paid by the piece. In Belfast in 1886 women 
winders averaged 9s. 3d. ($2.25) and women weavers lis. 6d. ($2.80), 
while in 1906 women winders averaged lis. 3d. ($2.74) and women 
weavers lis. 6d. ($2.80). The average weekly earnings of both are 
now about 12s. ($2.92), but this varies considerably with the quality 
of the work as well as the capacity of the worker. 

The following piecework rates for winding, beaming, drawing in, 
and weaving are those now paid in a representative Belfast mill 
having between 500 and 1,000 looms (Id. =2 cents) : 

Weaving Scale of Mill A for Roughs, etc., (Green and Treated) Up to 32 

Inches Wide in 100- Yard Pieces. 



Construction. 



4/4. 
5/4. 
4/5. 
5/5. 
6/5. 
5/6. 
6/6. 
6/7. 
7/7. 
7/8. 



7/9... 
8/9... 
9/9... 
8/10.. 
9/10.. 
10/11. 
11/12. 
12/13. 



Pieces. 



Four. Three. Less 



Pence. 
16 
16 
17 
17 
17 
17 
18 



Pence. 



19 
20 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
30 
32 
34 



Pence. 
15 
15 
16 
16 
16 
16 
17 
18 
19 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
29 
31 
33 



Bonus. 



Pence. 



Hours. 



10 
11 
12 
13 
13 
14 
15 
17 
17 
20 
20 
23 
23 
23 
26 
26 
28 
30 
33 



For cloth 33 to 35 inches wide, add Id. to the foregoing scale; cloth 36 to 39 inches wide, 2d.; cloth 40 to 
42£ inches wide, 3d.; cloth 43 to 46 inches wide, 6d.; cloth over 46J inches wide, 7d. Split, 3d. extra. All 
unions and checks, 110 yards, paid at above scale. 



Weaving Scale of Mill A for Ducks, etc.. 

Pieces. 



Up to 33 Inches Wide in 100- Yard 



8/6.. 
9/6.. 
10/6.. 
8/7... 
9/7 .. . 
10/7 . . 
11/7.. 
9/8... 
10/8.. 
11/8.. 
12/8.. 
10/9.. 
11/9.. 
12/9.. 
10/10. 
11/10. 
12/10. 
13/10. 
11/11. 



Construction. 



Pieces. 



Three. 



} ence. 
18 
18 
19 
20 
21 
21 



Two. 



Pence. 



21 
22 
22 
23 
23 
24 
24 
2.3 
25 
26 
27 
27 
27 



Less. 



Pence. 
17 
17 
18 
19 
20 
20 
20 
21 
21 
22 
22 
23 
23 
24 
24 
25 
26 
26 
26 



Hours. 



15 
15 

16 
17 
18 
18 
18 
19 
19 
19 
20 
22 
22 
22 
23 
23 
24 
24 
25 



For cloth 33 to 35 inches wide, add Id. to the foregoing scale; cloth 36 to 39 inches wide, 2d.; cloth 40 to 
42i inches wide, 3d.: cloth 43 to 46 inches wide, 6d.; cloth over 46 inches wide, 7d. Split, 3d. extra. All 
unions and checks, 110 yards, paid at above scale. 



LINEN" INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 65 

Weaving Scale of Mill A for Green Linens 38 Inches Wide in 92-Yard Pieces. 



Construction. 



Pieces. 



Two. 



Less. 



Bonus. 



Hours. 



8/9... 
9/10.. 
10/11. 
11/12. 
12/13. 
13/14. 
14/15. 
15/16. 
16/17. 
17/18. 
18/19. 
19/20. 
13/15. 
14/16. 
15/17. 
16/18. 
17/19. 



Pence. 
25 
28 
30 
32 
34 
36 
39 
44 
49 
55 
60 
66 
38 



Pence. 
24 
27 
29 
31 
33 



36 
41 
48 
52 
58 



Pence. 



22 
24 
26 
27 
30 
33 
36 
38 
40 
42 
44 
46 
35 
38 
40 
42 
44 



Weaving Scale of Mill A for Cambrics 37^ Inches Wide in 85- Yard Pieces. 



Construction. 



10/10 
11/11 
12/12 
13/13 
14/14 
15/15 
16/16 
17/17 
11/1L 



Rate. 



Bonus. 



Pence. 



24 
28 
31 

34 
35 
40 
44 
48 
29 



Pence. 



Hours. 



22 
24 
26 
28 
30 
33 
35 
37 
25 



Construction. 



11/12. 
12/12* 
12/13". 
13/14. 
14/15. 
15/16. 
16/17. 
17/18. 



Rate. 



Pence. 



30 
32 

33 
36 
39 
43 
45 
51 



Bonus. 



Pence. 



Hours. 



29 
30 



Cloth 44 inches or more wide, 10 per cent on above scale. 

Weaving Scale of Mill A for Boiled Linens 38 to 42^ Inches Wide in 85- 
Yard Pieces. 



Construction. 



'9/10. 
10/11 
11/12 
12/13 
13/14 
14/15 
15/16 
16/17 



Rate. 



Pence. 
24 
27 
30 
33 
36 
39 
45 
51 



Bonus. 



Pence. 



Hours. 



22 

24 
26 

28 
30 
32 
34 
37 



Construction. 



Rate. 



17/18 
18/19 
19/20 
20/21 
21/22 
22/23 
14/14 
14/14. 



Pence. 
57 
63 
69 
75 
81 
87 
36 
37 



Bonus. 



Pence. 
6 
6 
6 
6 
6 
12 
6 
6 



Hours. 



40 
42 
44 
46 
48 
50 
30 
31 



Unions (cotton warp and linen weft) 38 inches wide, 100 yards, paid at above scale. 
13002°— No. 74—13 5 



66 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 
Warp Winding Scale of Mill A. 



Yarns. 



Linens, green or finished 
Up to 55s 

If slubbed 

60s to 75s 

If slubbed 

80s and up 

If slubbed 



Rate 
per 100 
hanks. 



Pence. 



10 

12 
11 

13 
12 
14 



Yarns. 



Tows: 

Green 

Treated 

Dry spun 

Dyed 

Cotton: 

Gray and white 

Colored 



Rate 
per 100 
hanks. 



Pence. 



10 
11 
12 
13 

i.04 
i.05 



1 Per lea per pound. 
Weft Winding Scale of Mill A per 100 Hanks. 

LINE YARNS. 



Number. 


Gray. 


Gray and 
slubbed. 


Boiled and 
slubbed. 


Dyed. 


Dp to 22s 


Pence. 

IS 
17 
18 
18 
18 
19 
20 
21 


Pence. 
22 
21 
22 
22 
22 
23 
24 
25 


Pence. 
23 

22 
22 
23 
25 
25 
27 
27 


Pence. 

24 


25s to 65s 


22 


70s to 75s 




80s to 85s 




90s to 110s 




120s 




] 30s 




140s and up 









TOW YARNS. 



Number. 



Up to 20s.. 
22s and up . 



Green. 



Pence. 



Treated. 



Pence. 



20 

is 



Dry spun. 



Pence. 



20 



Dved. 



Pence. 



23 
21 



Cotton, gray and while, 0.05d. per lea per pound; colored, 0.07d. per lea per pound. 

Warper's Scale of Mill A. 



Ends. 



Up to 200 
201 to 300 
301 to 400 
401 to 500 
501 to 600 
601 to 700 
701 to 800 



Rate per 

1,000 

yards. 



Pence. 



2i 
2* 

n 

3 
3| 
3| 

11 



Ends. 



801 to 900... 
901 to 1.000. . 
1,001 to 1,050 
Cotton: 

White.. 

Colored . 



Rate per 

1,000 

yards. 



Pence.* 

k 

5* 



Leas 16s, 18s, and 20s, 50 per coni on above scale. 

Drawers-in Scale of Mill A. 



Drawing in, 8d. per L,000 splits. 

Drawing in and lifting leas, 12d. per 1,000 splits. 



LINEN INDUSTEY IN IRELAND. 67 

METHOD OF COMPUTING WEAVERS' WAGES. 

Study of the preceding weaving scales will show that the system 
used in Irish linen mills differs somewhat from that customary in 
English cotton or worsted mills, where the price is frequently fixed at 
so much per pick for some fixed length of warp, width, and type of 
loom, and where any alteration in the number of picks or in length of 
warp involves a pro rata change in price. 

In the linen mills the management carefully notes the time that it 
takes to weave each specific fabric, or else calculates the time that it 
should take, allowing a certain percentage, found from observation of 
nearly similar goods, for all stoppages and loss of time. The weaver's 
rate of pay is based primarily on the width and construction of the 
goods and the kind of yarn used, taking into account its condition, 
whether green (unbleached), boiled, creamed, half bleached, full 
bleached, etc. The rate of pay thus fixed, however, is usually based 
on the weaver getting off a definite number of cuts per loom in the 
specified time, and if he turns off less than this his rate per piece is 
reduced, in most cases by a penny. For instance, in mill A a weaver 
on 38-inch green linens, 8/9 sett and picks, is paid 25d. per 92-yard 
cut if he turns off at least two 92-yard cuts per loom in 22 hours, but 
if he fails to get two pieces per loom in this time he is paid only 24d. 
a cut. In some mills this system is varied by paying the weaver a 
set price per cut and then adding a bonus if he does it in a specified 
time. The bonus shown in mill A is for perfect cloth. The system 
of differential rates — that is, the bonus system — is typical of the Irish 
mills and is used to insure regular attendance of spinners, winders, 
etc., by a bonus at the end of the week to all those who have lost no 
time; to stimulate production by paying winders, etc., a bonus on 
every shilling earned above a specified amount and weavers a higher 
rate of pay for reaching a certain output per loom ; and to stimulate 
good work by paying a bonus for perfect cloth. A large though 
unascertained proportion of the looms in Irish linen mills work on 
union fabrics made with a cotton warp and linen weft, and as this 
is easier work the rate of pay is always less than for all-linen goods 
of the same make. 

EQUIVALENT OF IRISH LINEN SCALE IN ENDS PER INCH. 

The construction of the goods, the sett and pick, in Irish weaving 
scales is shown in the contracted nomenclature of 8/9, 9/10, 10/11, 
etc., which is rather confusing, as it is so similar to the 5/4 (five- 
quarter), etc., method of describing cloth widths, and is also liable 
to be mistaken for the English method of showing shillings and 
pence. As previously noted, 8/9 sett and pick, as used in the Irish 
linen trade, would mean that the cloth is woven through an 8°° reed, 
40-inch scale (that is, 800 splits or 1,600 ends in the standard reed 
width of 40 inches), and counting 9 shots under a 37-inch glass (9 
shots or picks in 37/200, or 0.185, inch). 



68 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



The following table may be useful in obtaining the equivalent of 
the Irish linen scale in the more rational system of ends per inch : 



Reed. 


Picks. 


Irish 


Equivalent 


Irish scale, 


Equivalent 


40-inch 


warp ends 


under 37- 


picks 


scale. 


per inch. 


inch glass. 


per inch. 


400 


20 


4 


21.6 


5" 


25 


5 


27.0 


6" 


30 


6 


32.4 


yoo 


35 


7 


37.8 


goo 


40 


8 


43.2 


9" 


45 


9 


48.6 


10°° 


50 


10 


54.1 


11" 


55 


11 


59.5 


12 oo 


60 


12 


64.9 


13 oo 


65 


13 


70.3 


14 oo 


70 


14 


75.7 


15°° 


75 


15 


81.1 


JgOO 


80 


16 


86.5 


17°° 


85 


17 


91.9 


JgOO 


90 


18 


97.3 


19" 


95 


19 


102.7 


20 00 


100 


20 


108.1 


21" 


105 


21 


113.5 


22 00 


110 


22 


118.9 


23°° 


115 


23 


124.3 


2400 


120 


24 


129.7 



Thus, an Irish linen rough 4/4, which would be called a 4°° reed 
cloth with 4 shots per 37-inch glass, would be woven with 20 ends 
per inch in the reed and with 21.6 picks per inch, while Irish fine 
linen cambrics 24/24 would be woven with 120 ends per inch in the 
reed and 130 picks per inch. 

WINDING SCALES OF VARIOUS MILLS. 

There have been shown the winding, warping, drawing-in, and 
weaving piecework scales of one large Belfast factory, designated as 
mill A. There is no uniform scale in force, and an idea of the diver- 
sity may be obtained from the scales in force in some other mills. 

Winding Scale of Mill B. 



Yarns. 


Rate 
per 100 
hanks. 


Yarns. 


Rate 
per 100 
hanks. 


WARP. 

Gray: 

10s to 20s 


Pence. 
13 
12 
12 
13 

15 
14 

18 
19 
21 


weft — continued. 

Gray — Continued. 

120s to 130s 


Pence. 


Above 20s. . . 


22 


Boiled, all leas 


140s to 150s 


23 


Bleached, all leas 


160s to 170s 


26 


Colored: 

14s 


Boiled: 
14s— 

Not slabbed 




Above 14s 


17 




Slubbed 


22 


WEFT. 

Gray : 


40s— 

Not slubbed 


18 


Up to 45s 


Slubbed 


20 


45s to 80s 


90s to 120s, slubbed 


26 


90s to 110s 


130s, 140s, and 150s, slubbed 


28 



Each girl has 20 ryces; no bonus. 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 
Winding Scale of Mill C. 



69 



Yarns. 



WARP 

Gray: 

Up to 90s 

Above 90s 

Colored, all leas 

WEFT, 

Gray, all leas 

White, all leas 



Rate 
per 100 
hanks. 



Pence. 



11 
12 
13 



Yarns. 



weft — continued. 

Colored, all leas 

Boiled: 

Up to 85s 

90s to 120s 

120s and up 



Rate 
per 100 
hanks. 



Pence. 



19 

19 

22 
25 



Each girl has 20 ryces and 6d. bonus at end of week if she loses no time. 

Winding Scale of Mill D. 



Yarns. 



Gray, all leas up to 90s. 

Boiled, all leas 

Colored, all leas 



WEFT. 

Gray: 

Up to 85s 

90s, 100s, and 110s.. 



Bate 
per 100 
hanks 



Pence. 



21 
23 



Yarns. 



weft — cont inued . 



Gray — C ontinued . 

120s and 130s.. 

140s and up . . . 
Boiled: 

Up to 85s 

90s 

100s and 110s.. 

120s and 130s.. 



Rate 
per 100 
hanks. 



Pence. 



24 
27 

23 

24 
26 
27 



Each girl has 20 ryces and is paid a bonus of Id. on every shilling earned per week above 6s. 
COMPARISON OF WINDING SCALES IN COUNTRY MILLS. 

Following is a comparison of winding scales in two country mills 
working on fine goods. While these two mills were on the same gen- 
eral quality of material, the winders in mill F averaged about 2s. 
more per week than the winders in mill E. 



Yarns. 


Rate per 100 hanks 


Yarns. 


Rate per 100 hanks. 


MillE. 


MillF. 


MillE. 


MillF. 


WARP. 

60s to 120s 


Pence. 
10 
10 
11 


Pence. 
11 
12 
13 
15 
17 
18 

18 
20 


weft — continued . 
130s 


Pence. 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 


Pence. 
20 


130s 


140s 


20 


140s 


150s.. 


20 


150s 


160s 


20 


160s 




170s 


21 


170s 




180s 


22 




15 
16 


190s ! 


23 


WEFT. 


200s 




24 


65s to 110s 








120s 









Other winding wages might be given, but the foregoing are suffi- 
cient to show the general system. There is no uniformity in rates 
and in some cases quite a difference between one mill and another. 
As a rule, the country mills pay somewhat less than the mills in 
Belfast, Payment for winding is almost always per 100 hanks. As 



70 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



a rule, each girl has 20 skeins, each on its own ryce or swift, to look 
after, but in some cases slightly more or less. The strength of the 
yarn is decreased when " treated," so the rate for boiled, bleached, 
etc., yarn is nearly always more than for the untreated gray or green 
yarn. Slubbed yarn is paid at a higher rate than unslubbed. In many 
mills a bonus of 6d. a week is given those who have lost no time. In 
other cases production is stimulated by paying a bonus of a penny 
in the shilling on all wages per week earned above a certain minimum. 

WEAVING RATES IN VARIOUS MULLS. 

For comparison with the weaving rates shown for mill A the 
weaver's rates on a few cloths from other mills are given. 

Weaving Scale of Mill G for Plain Linens in 100- Yard Pieces. 



Con- 
struc- 
tion. 


Width. 


Rate. 


Bonus. 


Hours. 


Con- 
struc- 
tion. 


Width. 


Rate. 


Bonus. 


Hours. 


7/7 

778 

8/9 

9/10 

9/11 

10/11.... 


Inches. 
28 
28 
28 
36 
36 
36 


Pence. 
17 
18 
20 
22 
25 
26 


Pence. 

2 
2 
2 
2 
3 
3 


21 
24 
27 
30 
33 
33 


11/12.... 
12/13.... 
12/14.... 
13/15.... 
14/15.... 


Inches. 
36 
38 
31 
36 
30 


Pence. 
27 
30 
33 
37 
38 


Pence. 

3 
3 
3 
3 
4 


34 
37 
40 
42 
42 



Weaving Scale of Mill H for Plain, Fine Linens 38 Inches Wide in 100- 
Yard Pieces. 



Construction. 



9/10.. 
9/11.. 
10/11 
10/12 
11/12 
11/13 
12/13 
12/14 
13/14 





Bonus for 


Rate. 


perfect 




work. 


Pence. 


Pence. 


28 


1 


30 


1 


30 


2 


32 


2 


32 


2 


34 


2 


35 


2 


37 


2 


38 


3 



Construction. 



13/15 
14/15 
14/16 
15/16 
15/17 
16/17 
16/18 
17/18 
17/19 



Rate. 



Pence. 
40 
43 
46 
46 
49 
51 
54 
63 
65 



Bonus for 
perfect 
work. 



Pence. 



Weaving Scales of Mills J and K for Lawns, 
lawn. 



Reed. 


Shots. 


Width. 


Rate per 90 yards. 


Mill J. 


Mill K. 


20°° 


20 
20 
21 
20 
19 
16 
15 
13 


Inches. 
36J 
414 

44 
38 

4ii 

43J 
52 


Pence. 
90 
99 
106 
84 
72 
55 
60 
42 


Pence. 
67 


20°° 


76 


20°° 


80 


19°<> 


65 


18°° 


62 


16°° 


55 


14°° 


53 


13°° 


39 







LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



71 



Weaving Scales of Mills J and K for Lawns — Continued. 

LAWN WITH TAPED BORDER. 





Reed. 


Shots. 


Width. 


Rate per 90 yards. 




Mill J. 


MillK. 




13 
13 
13 
16 


36 
42 
471 
50' 


49 
54 
56 

81 


43 


]9oo 


47 




49 




73 







SHEER LAWN. 



I400 
I400 
I400 
I400 
I500 
16°° 
16°° 
I700 

18°° 
18°° 



13 


37 


52 


13 


43J 


58 


13 


43J 


66 


16 


43* 


04 


14 


43.1 


63 


15 


37 


62 


15 


43i 


07 


15 


43* 


84 


16 


35 


72 


16 


43* 


90 



Weaving Scale of Mill L for Plain Linens. 



Construction. 



8/10.. 
9/11.. 
10/12. 
11/13. 
12/14. 
13/15. 
14/16. 
15/17. 
16/18. 
17/19. 
18/19. 



96-yard 

piece, 24* to 

33 inches 

wide. 



90-yard 

piece,34 and 

35 inches 

wide. 



Pence. 



22 
25 
27 

29 
32 
33 
39 
44 



Pence. 



24 

27 
2M 
32 
33 
38 
43 
47 
51 
01 
08 



90-yard 

piece, 36 

inches wide. 



Pence. 



25 
28 

30 
33 
30 
39 
44 
48 
52 
02 
03 



90-yard 

piece, 38 

inches wide. 



Pence. 



2.1 
28 
30 
32 
33 
38 
42 
40 
50 
00 
07 



100-yard 

piece, 36 

inches wide. 



Pence. 



25 
28 
30 
33 
36 
39 
44 
4S 
52 
62 
09 



100-yard- 

piece, 38 

inches wide. 



Pence. 



106-yard 

piece, 38 

inches wide. 



Pence. 



32 
34 
37 
41 

45 



For perfect work there is paid the following bonus: 3d. a cut extra for 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14 shot work; 
4d. for 15 shot; 5d. for 16 shot; 6d. for 17 shot; 7d. for 18 shot; 8d. for 19 shot; 9d. for 20 shot; and lOd. for 
21 shot. There is also a bonus of a penny in the shilling for all wages earned from 3s. to 12s. a week. 

Mill J is located at a small town and mill K in the country. The 
scales for these two mills give some idea of the variation that may 
be encountered in factories working on the same class of goods. 
In bordered work, in mill J more is paid for broken or fancy borders 
than for tapes. For instance, Is. more is paid for 5 tapes than for 
1 tape, w T hereas in mill K there is no difference. 

CAUSES OF VARIATIONS IN WAGES. 



Other weaving scales might be given, but the foregoing are suffi- 
cient to give an idea of the systems and to show T that there is no 
uniformity. Conditions vary so from mill to mill according to the 
availability of local labor and wdiether the mill is in the city or the 
country, the fineness of the yarns used, and the quality of the ma- 



72 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



terial, the degree of perfection desired in the work (where very 
perfect work is desired the speed of looms and hence the output is 
lower), etc., that the weaving scales in themselves without a con- 
siderable amount of correlated data are of no great value except to 
show the system and the general level of piecework rates. 

That there is no uniform scale is due partly to the unorganized con- 
dition of the labor and partly, the manufacturers say, to the character 
of the work. Yarns of the same lea may vary widely in strength 
and weaving power owing to their condition and to the difference in 
quality of the flax used in their production, and goods with the same 
yarn leas and the same reed and pick may be woven with different 
speeds, etc., owing to the use to which they are to be put. Most linen 
Aveavers operate two looms each, a few may run three, while on 
goods that have to be woven absolutely perfect the weaver may be 
given only one loom. One-loom weavers are usually paid a higher 
rate than two-loom weavers, but in some cases the weaver is paid the 
same rate and given a bonus of 3s. or more per loom per week if the 
work is done correctly. 



LABOR ORGANIZATIONS. 



There are several labor unions in the Irish linen industry, the ones 
noted in the Government report on labor unions having the follow- 
ing memberships at the end of 1910: 



Unions. 



Textile Operatives of Ireland 

Flax Roughers and Yarn i^pinners 

Ulster Weavers and Winders 

Portadown Textile Operatives 

Flax Dressers 

Irish Linen Lappers 

Beetling Fnginemen 

Belfast Power-Loom Yarn Dressers 

Power Loom Tent ers of Ireland 

Hand Loom Damask Weavers of Lisburn. 

Lurgan Hemmers and Veiners 

Hand Loom Weavers of Ireland 




Women. 



2.411 
177 
245 
611 



G22 
10 



Labor-union leaders state that the unorganized condition of the 
workers is due largely to the fact that most of the operatives are 
women, and to the further fact that religious and political differences 
prevent their organizing to work for any common end. Ulster was 
largely settled by Protestants from Scotland and England, and there 
have been religious and political differences of centuries between 
them and the local Irish, who, like the inhabitants of the other three 
Provinces of Ireland, are mainly Catholics and Home Rulers. Any 
move, even for better wages and conditions, on the part of one sec- 
tion is usually opposed as a matter of course by other sections. There 
have been strikes that have secured advances in wages, but these have 
been almost entirely in isolated mills where the bulk of the workers 
happened to be of the same church or party. 

WORKING HOURS. 

In Ireland, as in the rest of the United Kingdom, the legal hours 
are 55J per week. There is no legal restrictions as to hours where 
men only are employed, but as most of the operatives are women 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 73 

and children, the mills are practically limited to the legal 55^ hours 
per week. Different periods are worked, but as a rule the Irish mills 
start at 6.30 a. m. and work to 8.15, when there is a stop till 9 for 
breakfast ; then they work from 9 to 1 p. m., when there is a stop for 
lunch until 1.45. Work stops at 6 p. m. Saturday morning they 
stop only 30 minutes for breakfast and the machinery stops at 12 and 
there is then a half hour for cleaning the machinery. 

COST OF TYPICAL IRISH FLAX SPINNING AND WEAVING MILL. 

To show concretely the different machines required, together with 
usual productions and wages in typical mills and factories in the Bel- 
fast flax industry, the following complete data were obtained from a 
prominent Irish textile expert. 

SPECIFICATIONS OF CLOTH TO BE MANUFACTURED. 

The article to be made is what is known as 38-inch 10/12 -linen 
rough, which is a medium fineness of a cloth extensively manufactured 
at Belfast. This cloth is known as a 10 00 because it is made with a 
reed having 1,000 splits, 2 ends to a split, in the standard width of 
40 inches. There are 2,000 ends in the warp. Such cloth to finish 
38 inches has the warp spaced 40 inches in the reed, which, with 
7^ per cent contraction, gives a 37-inch width from the loom, and in 
finishing this is beetled out to 38 inches. The picks are given as 12 
under a 37-inch glass, which means that there are 12 picks in every 
thirty-seven two hundredths of an inch of length. The cloth is made 
with 50s lea warp and 65s lea weft ; 100 yards of warp produce 85 
yards of cloth (trade yards of 37 inches). 

The weight of warp in each cut works out as — 4.nv r Ov^OO 

or 13.33 pounds. The weight of weft in each cut works out as 
12X200X40X85 

65X300X36 0r 1L62 P 0unds ' 

In each 85 yards (37-inch yards) of cloth, therefore, there are 
24.95 pounds of yarn. A cut of cloth is 38 inches wide and 85 37- 
inch yards long, so measures 92.215 square yards. As 24.95 pounds 
is 399.2 ounces, this makes the cloth weigh 4J ounces to the square 
yard. 

Looms with 42-inch reed space on such cloth are run at 160 picks 
per minute, and figuring on a 75 per cent production the outturn 

per loom per 10-hour day is — 19VO00V37 — X0.75, or 30 yards. 

In estimating the amount of yarn required there is allowed 2J per 
cent of warp and 5 per cent of weft to cover waste in winding and 
weaving. For each cut, therefore, there is needed 13.33 divided by 
0.975, or 13.67 pounds of warp, and 11.62 divided by 0.95, or 12.23 
pounds of weft, a total of 25.90 pounds of yarn per cut. 

COST OF SPINNING MILL. 

The average flax-spinning mill has about 20,000 spindles, so that 
we shall figure on a spinning mill of this size making 50s lea warp 
and 65s lea weft and then figure on a weave shed with sufficient looms 
to take up the product of the spinning mill. 



74 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



The first cost complete of an Irish flax-spinning mill of 20,208 
spindles making 50s lea warp and 65s lea weft will be as follows : 



Items. 



MACHINERY. 

11 duplex hackling machines of latest type fitted with automatic screwing mecha- 
nism and with automatic spreader and sli verer attached, at £ 1,110 each 

93 heads, first drawing, doubling 12 into 1, at £62 a head 

93 heads, second drawing, doubling 12 into 1, at £62 a head 

02 heads, third drawing, doubling 16 into 1, at £62 a head 

62 heads, fourth drawing, doubling 8 into 1, at £02 a head 

31 roving frames, with 8 by 4 inch bobbins, 80 spindles each; total of 2,480 spindles, 
at 125s. per spindle 

42 warp-spinning frames, of 2|-inch pitch, 224 spindles each; total of 9,408 spindles, 
at 15s. 6d. per spindle 

45 weft-spinning frames, of 2-inch pitch, 240 spindles each; total of 10,800 spindles, 
at 14s. 6d. per spindle 

100 double reels, 40 bobbins to the reel, at £25 each 

1 long Marr's hank-drying machine 

7 yarn-bundling presses, at £130 each 

Total 

MACHINE ACCESSORIES AND STORES. 

Hackles and spares 

Spare gills and pins 

Sliver cans, 14-inch, for a;itospreaders, 12-inch for first drawing. 10-inch for second 
drawing, 9-inch for third drawing, 8-inch for fourth drawing, all 38 inches high, 
total of 11,200 cans, at 3s. each 

Trucks, rove carts, etc 

Flyer eye wire and apparatus 

2 preparing-room slide lathes, at £20 each 

6 fluting machines, at £90 each 

Weighing machines 

Rove reel, etc 

280 gross 8 by 4 inch rove bobbins, at 28s. per gross 

700 gross spinning bobbins, 2 by 1 inch and 2J by 1 \ inch, at 3s. per gross 

280 gross spinning-frame pressing rollers, 2 by § inch and 2\ by f inch, of boxwood, 

at 10s. per gross 

500 bobbin cages, at 3s. each 

Yarn tester 

Cotton banding 

Total ., 

BUILDING AND EQUrPMENT, STEAM PLANT, ETC. 

Three Lancashire shell boilers, 30 feet by 7 feet 6 inches, with piping and fittings, 

at £600 

One 800-horsepower cross-compound condensing engine 

One 298-tube economizer with valves, dampers, etc 

Stokers, feed pumps, and other engine and boiler equipment 

Engine and boiler seatings 

Chimney .' 

Shafting, pulleys, hangers, couplings, etc 

Ropes and belting 

Humidification and dust-removal plant 

Electric-light equipment comnlete 

Buildings and miscellaneous 

Total 

Grand total 



English 
currency 



£12,210 
5,766 
5,766 
3,844 
3,844 

15,500 

7,291 

7,830 

2,500 

730 

210 



65,491 



1,680 

20 

20 

40 

540 

70 

4 

392 

105 

140 

75 

8 

30 



3,259 



1,800 

3,200 
350 
250 

2,000 
500 

1,000 

650 

700 

400 

62,000 



12, 850 



American 
currency. 



$59, 419. 96 
28,060.24 
28,060.24 
18. 706. 83 
18, 706. 83 

75,430.75 

35,481.65 

38, 104. 70 

12, 166. 25 

3,552.54 

1,021.96 



318,711.95 



413. 65 
243. 32 



8, 175. 72 

97.33 

97.33 

194. 66 

2, 627. 91 

340. 66 

19.46 

1,907.67 

510.98 

681.31 

364. 99 

38.93 

146.00 



15, 859. 92 



8,759.70 
15,572.80 
1,703.27 
1,216.63 
9, 733. 00 
2, 433. 25 
4,866.50 
3,163.23 
3,406.55 
1,946.60 
301, 723. 00 



354,524.53 



141,600 



689,096.40 



The total first cost of the flax-spinning mill, in Ireland, complete 
with buildings, equipment, and machinery, ready to operate, would 
therefore be £7 2d., or $34.10, per spindle. No allowance is made 
for real estate. 

The floor space required for the mill will be about 7,500 square 
yards, and the building will be 234 by 53 feet square and 5 stories 
high. The machine hackling and the preparing rooms take up the 
first two floors, the next two are occupied by the spinning, and the 
top floor by the reeling and yarn room. The yarn is wet-spun and 
is dried in a loft over the boiler. Roughing is carried on in a sepa- 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 75 

rate one-story building', which, with the adjacent raw flax storeroom, 
requires some 600 square yards. 

SPINNING MILL PRODUCTION, SPEEDS, ETC. 

The 50s lea warp is made from Irish flax and the 65s lea weft 
from Baltic flax. There will be required to run the mill 8,043 
pounds of scutched Irish and 7,126 pounds of scutched Baltic flax 
each day of 10 hours. The total raw material required is therefore 
15,169 pounds each 10 hours. 

In the mill the first process is that of hand hackling, or roughing. 
Some of the Baltic flax can be pieced out without making tow, but 
all of the Irish flax, as well as a large portion of the Baltic, 
is roughed in the regular way. In most of the Irish mills the tow 
made in the roughing and in machine hackling is reworked into 
lower-grade yarn, but as we are figuring on a mill making one stand- 
ard article only, we shall consider the tow as being sold. From the 
8,043 pounds of scutched Irish there will be obtained 7,325 pounds 
of roughed Irish and 610 pounds of tow, the waste being 108 pounds. 
From the 7,126 pounds of scutched Baltic there will be obtained 
6,681 pounds of roughed Baltic and 318 pounds of tow, the waste 
being 127 pounds. The total roughed flax available in 10 hours' 
working will therefore be 14,006 pounds. 

The duplex hackling machines considered in this mill are of the 
very latest type, and attached to each is an automatic spreader and 
sliverer, so that the machine takes in pieces of roughed flax and 
turns out continuous sliver without any intermediate handling, 
thus saving the extra labor involved in the use of separate spreading 
machines. Each hackling machine has 12 tools, or hackling ma- 
chines, for the top end and 12 for the root end. The pins on the 
first tool are spaced one-fourth inch apart, and vary from this up 
to 30 pins to the inch on the twelfth, or finishing, tool; the size of 
wire used varies from No. 10 to No. 25 B. W. G. The hackling 
sheets are run at 16 revolutions per minute, and 10 lifts of the head 
may be made per minute. From the 7,325 pounds of roughed Irish 
there will be obtained 4,021 pounds of machined Irish, the tow 
amounting to 3,088 pounds and the waste to 216 pounds. From the 
6,681 pounds of roughed Baltic there will be obtained 3,563 pounds 
of machined Baltic and 2,862 pounds of tow, the waste amounting 
to 256 pounds. The total outturn of machined flax from 10 hours' 
working will, therefore, be 7,584 pounds. 

In the preparing room each system consists of four processes of 
drawing and one of roving. Each three heads of first and second 
drawing are followed by two heads of third and fourth drawing, 
and each two heads of the fourth, or finisher, drawing supply sliver 
for one roving frame of 80 spindles. The screw-gill or spiral system 
of driving the hackles is used throughout. 

The roving frames have 80 spindles each, using 8 by 4 inch bob- 
bins, and at a spindle speed of 600 revolutions per minute will turn 
off per spindle per 10 hours 3 pounds of rove measuring 100 yards 
to the ounce. The total production from the 2,480 spindles is 7,440 
pounds of rove each 10 hours. 

Weft-spinning frames of the flyer type are the only kind used for 
such leas of flax. There are 42 frames of 224 spindles each, or a 



76 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



total of 9,408 spindles, on 50s lea warp, and 45 frames of 240 spindles 
each, or a total of 10,800 spindles, on 65s lea weft; the total warp and 
weft spindles therefore number 20,208. 

On the warp frames the reach, or distance from center to center 
of the retaining and drawing rollers, is set at 2J inches; the pitch, 
or distance from center to center of the spindles, is 2-J inches; and 
the small double-headed bobbins used are 2-J by 1J inches. On the 
weft frames the reach is set at 2 inches, the pitch is also 2 inches, 
and the bobbins are 2 by 1 inch. 

Using rove weighing 100 yards per ounce, the draft on the warp 

frames making 50s lea warp figures out as Tqa^tt^j or 9.38 ; similarly, 
the draft on the weft frames making 65s lea weft figures out as 

* QQ X 65 or 
100X16' 

The speed of the spindles is 5,000 revolutions per minute, and we 
shall allow 14 turns twist per inch for both warp and weft and figure 
on 90 per cent production in both cases. The total warp production 

per day of 10 hours figures out as 9,408X i4vsr V50VH00 ^^'^~ 
3,360 pounds. The total weft production per day of 10 hours figures 

out as 10,800X i an/36 V65 V 300 X0-90=2,967 pounds. This gives a 

total yarn production per 10 hours from the spinning room of 6,327 
pounds of yarn. Taking the productive working week as 54 hours, 
there will be produced 18,144 pounds of warp and 16,022 pounds of 
weft, or a total of 34,166 pounds of yarn. 

Each reeler runs one side of 20 bobbins and is paid by the 100 
hanks reeled. The 18,144 pounds of 50s lea warp is equivalent to 
75,600 hanks of 3,600 yards, or 4,536 bundles of 60,000 yards. The 
16,022 pounds of 65s lea weft is equivalent to 86,780 hanks of 3,600 
yards, or 5,207 bundles of 60,000 yards. 

COST OF OPERATING SPINNING MILL. 

The following table gives the wages paid for operating the mill 
one week. Of the operatives listed, 119 are men and boys, while 591 
are women and girls. 



Operatives. 



Weekly wages. 


English 


American 


currency. 


currency. 


£ s. d. 




1 10 


$7.30 


39 14 3 


193.26 


14 8 


70.08 


10 


48.66 


1 10 


7.30 


5 15 6 


28.10 


2 12 6 


12.77 


14 


5.84 


15 


3.65 



ROUGHING ROOM. 

1 roughing master, at 30s. per week 

31 roughers on Irish flax turning out 353 hundredweight a week, at 2s. 3d. per 

hundredweight 

12 roughers on Baltic flax turning out 144 hundredweight a week, at 2s. per 

hundredweight • 

10 piecers-out on Baltic flax turning out 178 hundredweight a week, at 20s. per week 

MACHINE-HACKLING ROOM. 

1 machine master, at 30s. per week 

11 machine boys, at 10s. 6d. per week 

5 tipplers-up and bunch openers, at 10s. 6d. per week 

3 tow boys, at 8s. per week 

1 oiler, at 15s. per week 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



77 



Operatives. 



PREPARING ROOM. 

1 head preparing master, at £3 per week 

2 preparing masters, at 30s. per week 

3 set boys, at 15s. per week 

62 draw -frame minders, at 10s. 6d. per week 

31 back minders, at 10s. 6d. per week 

31 roving-frame minders, 80 spindles each, at 12s. 6d. per week. 

2 doffing mistresses, at 15s. per week 

16 doffers, at 8s. per week 

4 rove carriers, at 20s. per week 

2 roller boys, at 15s. per week 

1 cleaning master, at 20s. per week 

10 cleaners, at 9s. per week 

SPINNING ROOM. 

1 head spinning master, at £3 per week 

2 spinning masters, at 30s. per week 

56 warp spinners, 1| sides or 168 spindles each, at 12s. per week 
60 weft spinners, 1J sides or 180 spindles each, at 12s. per week. 

45 piecers, at lis. per week 

30 layers, at 10s. per week 

12 cagers, at 7s. per week 

6 doffing mistresses, at 16s. per week 

60 doffers, at 9s. per week 

2 oilers, at 15s. per week 

2 sweepers, at 15s. per week 

REELING ROOM. 

1 reeling master, at 30s. per week 

70 warp reelers, reeling 75,600 hanks, at 12d. per 100 hanks 

100 weft reelers, reeling 86,780 hanks, at 17d. per 100 hanks 

6 hank driers, at 25s. per week 

6 hank bundlers, at 25s. per week 

GENERAL LABOR. 

1 engineer, at 30s. per week 

1 oiler and greaser, at 20s. per week * 

2 boiler-room men, at 20s. per week 

1 machinist, at 30s. per week 

2 assistant machinists, at 20s. per week 

1 hoist man, at 15s. per week 

3 yard and warehouse men, at 20s. per week 

Total 



Weekly wages. 



English 
currency. 



1 10 

37 16 

61 9 

7 10 

7 10 



£ s. d. 

3 

3 
2 5 

32 11 

16 5 6 

19 7 6 

1 10 

6 8 

4 
1 10 
10 
4 10 



3 

3 
33 12 
36 
24 15 
15 

4 4 
4 16 

27 

1 10 

1 10 



1 10 
10 

2 

1 10 

2 
15 

3 



454 13 



American 
currency. 



$14.60 

14.60 

10.95 

158.41 

79.20 

94.28 

7.30 

31.15 

19.46 

7.30 

4.87 

21.90 



14.60 

14.60 

163.51 

175.19 

120.45 

73.00 

20.44 

23.36 

131.40 

7.30 

7.30 



7.30 

183.95 

299. 13 

36.50 

36.50 



7.30 
4.87 
9.73 
7.30 
9.73 
3.65 
14.60 



2,212.69 



COST OF WEAVING FACTORY. 



The cloth to be made from the 50s lea warp and 65s lea weft 
produced in the flax-spinning mill described is 38-inch, 10/12 linen 
roughs. With 75 per cent production it has been shown that a 
weaver would get off 30 yards of cloth per loom in 10 hours and there- 
fore in 54 hours actual working time 162 yards per week per loom. 
The production of 680 looms would be 110,160 yards per week, or 
1,296 cuts of 85 yards each (figuring on trade yards of 37 inches). 
Each cut weighs 24.95 pounds, so the weekly output from the factory 
would be 32,355 pounds of cloth. Allowing for waste, as previously 
shown, there is required a total of 25.90 pounds of yarn per cut, or 
33,566 pounds of yarn total, from the spinning mill, and of this, 
17,716 pounds would be warp and 15,850 pounds weft. 

The 17,716 pounds of 50s lea warp contains 73,788 hanks of 3,600 
yards, or 4,429 bundles of 60,000 yards; the 15,850 pounds of 65s lea 
weft contains 85,854 hanks, or 5,151 bundles. 



78 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



The weft on arrival at the factory is wound from the skein onto 
pirns about 6 by 1\ inches in size and sent direct to the looms, each 
Aveft winder tending about 16 pirns. The warp on arrival at the 
factory is wound from the skein onto spools 5 by 4 inches in size 
and these are placed in the creel of beam warpers and run onto beams. 
In this case 500 ends will be run onto each beam and each such beam 
of 50s lea warp will hold about 8,000 yards. Four of these beams at 
a time are placed in the dressing machine creels, two at each end, and 
are sized, dried, and wound up together on the weaver's beam in the 
center, each weaver's beam therefore holding 2,000 ends and having 
a warp length of about 400 yards. If 1,296 cuts of cloth are produced 
per week and each beam holds four cuts this necessitates 324 beams a 
week from the dressing machines. 

Each weaver tends two looms and in addition to weaving has to 
fetch her own weft from the storeroom and has to inspect and repair 
any minor defects in the cloth after weaving, clip off all loose threads, 
and carry same to the clothroom herself. Sweeping and oiling are 
usually performed by cheaper help. 

The total first cost of a typical Irish linen factory complete with 
buildings, equipment, and machinery, ready to operate would be 
£48 18s. 5d., or $238.06, per loom, as shown by the following statement. 
No allowance, it will be noted, is made for real estate. 



Items. 



MACHINERY. 

7 warp- winding machines of 100 drums each, total of 700 drums, at 18s. per drum. . . 
16 weft- winding machines of 100 spindles each, total of 1,600 spindles, at 22s. per 

spindle 

6 beam warpers and banks, at £46 each 

2 dressing machines, at £250 each 

14 dra wing-in frames, at £4 each 

680 overpick looms, 42-inch reed space, equipped ready for operation, at £13 each. 

2 cropping machines, at £80 each 

4 treating and washing jigs, at £30 each 

2 sets of drying cans, at £450 each 

2 patent beetles, at £560 each 

2 folding machines, at £25 each 

1 hydraulic cloth press, at £40 each. 

MACHINE ACCESSORIES AND STORES. 

1, 360 gross pirns, 6 by 1| inches, at 2s. 6d. per gross 

60 gross spools, 5 by 4 inches, at 22s. per gross 

680 spare loom beams at 25s. per beam. 

340 pounds buffalo hide pickers, at 19d. per pound 

BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT, STEAM PLANT, ETC. 

Two Lancashire shell boilers, 30 feet bv 7 feet 6 inches, with piping and fittings, at 

£600 \ 

One 400-horsepower cross-compound condensing engine 

Various engine and boiler accessories 

Engine and boiler seatings 

Shafting, pulleys, hangers, couplings, etc 

Ropes and belting •.., 

Buildings and miscellaneous 

Total 



English 


American 


currency. 


currency. 


£630 


$3,065.90 


1,760 


8,565.04 


276 


1,343.15 


500 


2,433.25 


56 


272. 52 


8,840 


43, 019. 86 


160 


778.64 


120 


583. 98 


900 


4,379.85 


1,120 


5,450.48 


50 


243. 32 


40 


194. 66 


170 


827. 31 


66 


321. 19 


850 


4, 136. 52 


27 


131. 40 


1,200 


5,839.80 


1,600 


7,786.40 


400 


1,946.60 


1,200 


5,839.80 


800 


3,893.20 


500 


2,433.20 


12, 000 


58,398.00 


33, 265 


161, 884. 12 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



79 



COST OF OPERATING WEAVING FACTORY. 

The following statement shows the wages of operatives in the weav- 



ing mill described 



Operatives. 



Weekly wages. 



English 
currency, 



American 
currency. 



YARN PREPARATION ROOM. 



1 foreman yarn preparation, at 30s. per week 

70 warp winders turning oft 73,788 hanks a week, at 15d. per 100 hanks 

100 weft winders turning off 85,854 hanks a week, at 19d. per 100 hanks 

9 warpers and creelers turning off 530,000 yards, at 3d. per 1,000 yards of 500 ends. . 

1 head dresser, at 35s. per week 

2 dressers, at 25s. per week 

14 drawing-in hands turning out 324 beams a week, at 8d. per 1,000 splits (1,000 splits 

in reed used) 

2 sweepers and oilers, at 15s. per week 



£. s. d. 

1 10 
46 2 4 
67 11 

6 12 6 

1 15 

2 10 

10 16 
1 10 



WEAVING ROOM. 

340 weavers, tending 2 looms each, turning off a total of 1,296 cuts a week, at 36d. 
■ cut 



peri 



12 tenters, at 20s. 6d. per week, plus a bonus of a shilling in the pound of the wages 
made by the weavers 

1 oiler, at 15s. per week 

2 sweepers, at 15s. per week 



FINISHING ROOM. 

1 head finisher, at 35s. per week 

2 croppers, at 17s. 6d. per week 

4 men at treating and washing jigs, at 17s. 6d. per week. 

2 men at drying cans, at 17s. 6d. per week 

2 beetlers, at 20s. per week 

2 folders, at 15s. per week. 



2 men at baling press, at 20s. per week 2 



GENERAL LABOR. 



1 engineer, at 30s. per week 

2 boiler-room men, at 20s. per week 

1 machinist, at 30s. per week 

2 assistant machinists, at 20s. per week 

3 yard and warehouse men, at 20s. per week. 



Total 381 



$7.30 
224. 43 
328. 73 

32.24 
8.52 

12.16 

52.56 
7.30 



194 8 


946.05 


22 5 


107. 16 


15 


3.65 


1 10 


7.30 


1 15 


8.52 


1 15 


8.52 


3 10 


17.03 


1 15 


8.52 


2 


9.73 


1 10 


7.30 


2 


9.73 


1 10 


7.30 


2 


9.73 


1 10 


7.30 


2 


9.73 


3 


14.60 



1,855.41 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 

In the flax-manufacturing trade of the United Kingdom Scotland 
has always been noted for its coarse and heavy goods and Ireland for 
its finer and lighter goods. In value the output of the Scottish indus- 
try is much less than that of the Irish industry, but in weight it is 
almost as large. 

The linen industry of Scotland is of considerable antiquity, and by 
the close of the sixteenth century linen goods formed the principal 
article of export to foreign countries. Flax was spun by distaff and 
spindle, and the process of manufacture was exceedingly slow and 
tedious, though somewhat accelerated by the introduction in 1533 of 
the spinning wheel. At Dundee, its main center, the industry suf- 
fered so much from wars and other vicissitudes that Parliament in 
1707 granted a bounty on cloth exports. The bounty was liberal in 
terms and differed according to the destination of the cloth, being 5d. 
to 6d. per yard for cloth shipped to British possessions and ranging 
as high as Is. 6d. per yard on exports to foreign ports. The bounty 
was continued until 1832, when it was withdrawn as no longer needed. 

Flax spinning was entirely a hand industry up to the latter part 
of the eighteenth century, when the steam engine, the spinning frame, 
and many other mechanical inventions were introduced. Dundee 
shares with Leeds the distinction of being the first to make a com- 
mercial success of flax spinning by machinery. It was not until about 
1820, however, that power spinning began to be used extensively, and 
it was not until 1836 that power weaving was inaugurated. The 
Scottish flax industry was passed by the Scottish jute industry about 
1855, but, owing largely to the American Civil War demand, con- 
tinued to expand until 1871, since which time it has declined. 

In the British linen trade it has been a case of the survival of the 
fittest, and certain advantages possessed by Ireland have led to the 
concentration of the industry in that country at the cost of both 
Scotland and England. According to official figures for the year 
1850 England led with 365,568 spindles on flax, and was followed by 
Ireland with 326,008 and Scotland with 303,125. England attained 
its maximum with 411,759 spindles in 1856, but now has less than 
50,000. Scotland attained its maximum in 1871 with 317,085, but by 
1905 had declined to 160,085, and to-day probably has less than 150,000 
spindles. The latest Government figures are for 1905, and, according 
to these, Ireland declined from 906,946 in 1875 to 812,952 spindles in 
1905; but,. according to the figures of the Irish Flax Supply Asso- 
ciation, there has since been a great revival of business, and the 
maximum of 951,362 spindles was attained in 1912. 
80 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 



81 



GOVERNMENT STATISTICS OF SPINDLES AND LOOMS. 

The following statistics, collected and issued by the Factory De- 
partment of the Home Office, show the status of the linen industry in 
the three sections of the United Kingdom for a number of years : 

SPINNING SPINDLES. 



Years. 


Ireland. 


Scotland. 


England 
and Wales. 


United 
Kingdom. 


1850 


326, 008 
567, 980 
' 592, 981 
894, 273 
886, 482 
906, 946 
808, 695 
817, 014 
840, -1-'° 
812, 9: J 


303, 125 
278, 304 
279, 385 
256,228 
317, 085 
275, 119 
265, 263 
220, 644 
187, 755 
160, 085 


365,568 
441,759 
344, 308 
437, 62C 
269, 768 
291,735 
190, 808 
117,559 
106, 610 
49, 941 


994, 701 


1856 


1,288,043 


1861 


1,216,674 
1,588,124 


1868 


1871 


1,453,335 


1875 


1,473,800 


1879 


1,264,766 


1885 


1,155,217 
1,134,813 
1,022,978 


1890 


1905 







DOUBLING SPINDLES. 



1875. 
1879. 
1885. 
1890. 
1905. 



18, 016 


x5,432 


47,287 


18, 048 


18, 495 


28, 439 


19,262 


22, 629 


23,269 


29,024 


20, 599 


11,898 


22, 859 


22,497 


7,521 



81,335 
64, 982 
65,160 
61,521 
52,877 



LOOMS. 



1850 
1856 
1868 
1871 
1875 
1879 
1885 
1890 
1905 



58 


2,529 


1,083 


1,871 


5,011 


1,987 


12, 969 


12, 985 


5,086 


14,834 


17,419 


3,048 


17,827 


18, 529 


5,624 


19,611 


16, 756 


4,081 


21,954 


21,626 


4,061 


25, 555 


16, 687 


4,472 


32, 831 


17, 185 


4,424 



3,670 
8,869 
31,040 
35,301 
41,980 
40,448 
47,641 
46, 714 
54,440 



DECLINE IN SCOTTISH SPINDLES. 



In 1850, though last in the number of spindles, Scotland led both 
England and Ireland in the number of looms, having 2,529, as 
against 1,083 in England and only 58 in Ireland. Since 1905 the 
number of looms in Scotland has not increased, while Ireland by 1913 
had twice as many looms as Scotland. The Scottish weaving in- 
dustry, however, has not declined to the same extent as the spinning 
industry. The latter meets with severer competition from abroad 
than weaving, and as a result Scotland has had to import a contin- 
ually increasing proportion of its yarn requirements from the Conti- 
nent. Owing partly to its relatively larger import of foreign yarns 
and partly to the coarser grade of goods manufactured, Scotland has 
fewer spindles to the loom than England, and many less than Ireland. 
In 1905, the latest year for which complete statistics are available, Ire- 
land had 24.8 spindles per loom, England 11.3, and Scotland only 9.3. 

Scotland has always made the coarser and heavier grades of linen 
goods, and it has therefore felt more severely the growing competi- 
tion of the Continent than has Ireland, which works more on the finer 
end of the industry. Ireland is noted for its production of cambrics, 

13002°— No. 74—13 6 



82 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

lawns, and other fine and medium plain- woven linens, in which wet- 
spun yarns are used, while Scotland is noted for the manufacture of 
the heavier grades of domestics, sailcloth, canvas, and duck from 
dry-spun yarns. The small amount of wet-spun yarns used in Scot- 
land is imported, either from the Continent or from Ireland, and in 
the manufacture of such goods as damasks, for which Dunfermline 
has been famous for a couple of centuries, there is increasing .compe- 
tition from Belfast and abroad. 

MANUFACTURE OF SAILCLOTH. 

One thing severely affecting a very important branch of the Scot- 
tish industry has been the gradual displacement of sailing vessels by 
steamers and the consequent diminution in the consumption of sail 
canvas. In 1852 there were on Lloyd's register 10,241 sailing vessels 
and 156 steamers, while in 1902, fifty years later, there were 2,689 
sailing vessels and 8,352 steamers. Though the demand is smaller 
than formerly, the sailing ships that remain, the large fleets of yachts, 
and the requirements of tentmakers, etc., still account for a con- 
siderable consumption of canvas. The bulk of the ships' canvas re- 
quired by the Royal Navy has always been obtained from Scotland, 
and in addition there have been large purchases for foreign navies, 
including the American. The extent of the Royal Navy requirements 
is shown by the Admiralty orders for sailcloth in a recent year as fol- 
lows: 3,500 yards red, 51,800 yards gray Merchant Navy, 110,000 
yards gray Royal Navy, 444,000 yards white Merchant Navy, 1,196,000 
yards white Royal Navy. 

In addition to the orders for Royal Navy canvas for sails and 
Merchant Navy canvas for awnings and duck for seamen's clothing, 
there are large orders annually from various departments of the 
Government for other flax goods such as tent duck (the 27-inch, 
lOJ-ounce being ordered by the hundreds of thousands of yards), 
canvas for clothing (especialy the 36-inch, llj-ounce), black duck 
for kitbags (mainly the 34-inch, 17-ounce), drab duck for gaiters 
(mainly the 24-inch, 12-ounce), linen dowlas of various makes, flax 
sheeting, osnaburgs (for bed coverings), etc. The Royal Navy con- 
tracts are largely taken by Baxter Bros. & Co. (Ltd.), who employ 
some 4,000 operatives, but a large number of the Scottish spindles 
and looms run on some of the various goods required by Government 
departments. The Government orders are of such value to the Scot- 
tish industry, especially the Dundee section, that they are usually 
placed at home even though lower bids are obtained from abroad. 
For instance, in 1910 the Secretary of State for the Home Depart- 
ment stated in Parliament that he had placed orders -for 704,500 
vards of Scottish woven canvas for mail bags though the home price 
at £31,042 2s. lid. was £985 7s. 6d. ($4,795.32) above foreign offers. 
A considerable proportion of this canvas and other Government 
orders, though woven in Scotland, was made with imported yarn. 

SCOTTISH LINEN MILLS. 

At one time there was an extensive cotton industry around Bel- 
fast in Ireland, but this was displaced by the linen industry, and 
only one important cotton mill is left. In Scotland the reverse has 
been the case, for though at one time there was an important linen 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 



83 



industry in the southwest around Glasgow, in Lanarkshire, and 
Paisley, in Renfrewshire, the invasion of cotton mills drove the more 
difficult industry with its lower wage scale to the eastward. Not 
only this, but the subsequent rise of the jute industry at Dundee came 
near wiping out the linen industry at its most important Scottish 
center. 

In Scotland the linen industry is now almost entirely confined to 
the eastern counties of Forfarshire and Fifeshire. The chief towns 
are Dundee and Dunfermline, the former for the coarser fabrics, 
such as sailcloth, sacking, and sheeting, and the latter for table linen. 

PRINCIPAL LINEN MANUFACTURERS. 

Aceording to the best data obtainable the following are the largest 
firms in the Scottish flax industry, those having over 10,000 spindles 
or 500 looms: 



Firms. 



Location. 



Spindles. Looms 



Baxter Bros. & Co. (Ltd.) 

Andrew Lowson (Ltd.) 

Don Bros., Buist & Co. (Ltd.) 



Erskine Beveridge & Co. (Ltd.) 

Hav & Roberston 

John Shields & Co. (Ltd.) 

Inelis & Co 

Andrew Reid & Co 

James Mathewson & Son (Ltd.) 

R. E. Walker, Reid & Co. (Ltd.)... 
James & Thomas Alexander (Ltd.). 

Lamb & Scott (Ltd.) 

D. & R. Duke 

Robert Wemyss & Co 

Craiks (Ltd. ) 

J. & G. Paton (Ltd.) 



Dundee 

Arbroath 

Dundee and For- 
far. 

Dunfermline 

do 

Perth 

Dunfermline 

do 

do 

do 

do 

Brechin 

do 

Kirkcaldy 

Forfar 

Montrose 



20, 000 
13, 000 
10, 000 



21,000 



1,200 

250 

1,000 

1,650 
1,270 
900 
700 
700 
660 
630 
600 
572 
560 
500 
500 



The firms of Baxter Bros. & Co. (Ltd.) and Don Bros., Buist & 
Co. (Ltd.) — the latter spins at Dundee and weaves at Forfar — work 
on jute as well as flax. These two, with the smaller firm of South 
Mills (Ltd.), are now the only surviving flax-spinning mills in 
Dundee. Craiks (Ltd.), at Forfar, also work partly on jute, while 
some of the Dunfermline concerns make cotton as well as linen table- 
cloths, etc. 

CHIEF CENTERS OF MANUFACTURE. 

Dunfermline, with its eight firms operating 6,540 looms in and 
around the town, is the largest linen-weaving center of Scotland, but 
it has no spindles and works largely on imported yarns. Many of 
these looms are Jacquards, making damask table linen, which has 
been the staple manufacture of the town since before the invention 
of power machinery. Kirkcaldy has some 11.000 spindles and 2.700 
looms on linen goods, mainly ticks, checks, ducks, towels, etc. There 
are some 5,420 spindles and 1,500 looms at Forfar, 1,332 looms at 
Brechin, and 1,035 looms at Perth. Smaller weaving centers are 
Dysart, Freuchie, Cupar, and Arbroath. The largest flax-spinning 
firm is at Montrose, other spinning centers besides Dundee being 
Arbroath, Kirkcaldy, Bervie, Blairgowrie, and Brechin. At no Scot- 
tish center does there seem to be any increase of the flax industry, and 
w T here it is not declining it is stationary. 



84 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

RAW MATERIALS. 



At one time Scotland raised the bulk of its flax requirements; but 
as the eastern ports of Scotland are directly across the North Sea 
from the ports of the Baltic, Scotland was the first to feel the compe- 
tition of the cheaper labor of the Continent. With the great increase 
of flax growing in Russia the production of flax in Scotland became 
less and less remunerative and declined', until to-day there is not an 
acre left under this crop. Efforts have been made to revive flax 
growing. In the Jubilee j^ear of 1887, for instance, manufacturers 
imported and distributed large quantities of linseed free to the farm- 
ers and offered liberal inducements to stimulate a home supply. 
After a short trial the Scottish farmers found themselves unable to 
compete with the cheaper labor and more favorable climate of Russia, 
and there is no prospect that they can be induced to try again. 

IMPORTS OF FLAX. 

At Dundee the first recorded import of flax was 2,348 tons in 1791. 
In 1821 the import was 5,724 tons, and it gradually increased to a 
maximum of 50,935 tons in 1891, but with the subsequent great 
decline in Scottish spinning the amount of flax required fell off 
correspondingly. 

The imports of flax and tow into the eastern ports of Scotland and 
the total imports into the United Kingdom in recent years are shown 
in the following table : 



Ports. 


1900 


1905 


1910 


1911 


1912 


Dundee . 


Tons. 

12, 734 

12, 667 

4,368 

2,189 

2,580 

873 


" Tons. 
18, 103 
8,791 
7,413 
2,890 
2,177 
4,230 


Tons. 
16,864 
7,991 
7,195 
3,629 
1,914 
3,311 


Tons. 
15,900 
8,216 
7,710 
3,247 
378 
3,168 


Tons. 
24,058 
8,149 


Leith 


Montrose 


6,593 
4,275 
1,644 


Aberdeen 


Arbroath 


Fife ports 


3,050 




Total 


35,411 


43, 604 


40, 904 


38, 619 


47,769 






Total, United Kingdom 


71,586 


90,098 


88,442 


80,029 


105, 930 







Scottish flax mills, though having less than a fifth of the spindles 
of the United Kingdom, account for approximately half the total 
consumption of flax, which is due, as shown elsewhere, to the coarser 
counts on which they run. 

There is a small reexport of flax from the eastern ports, chiefly 
to the United States, but this is about balanced by the receipts, in 
addition to the direct imports from foreign countries, by rail and 
coasting vessels. The reexports, in fact, are a negligible proportion 
of the total, rarely amounting to more than 1,000 tons. Some flax is 
imported at Glasgow, but only for reexport, and it does not enter into 
the Scottish consumption. 

Ireland imports fine flax from Belgium and coarse flax from 
Russia. Scotland spins no fine yarn, so the raw material imported is 
almost exclusively coarse flax from Russia, coming mainly from the 
Russian ports of Riga (about half of the total), Windau, Reval, and 
Pernau. The fleet engaged in this flax-carrying trade across the 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 85 

North Sea comprises small steamers of about 1,000 tons each, and 
most of them are Leith-owned vessels. The 24,058 tons of flax im- 
ported into Dundee in 1912 were brought in 62 vessels, with a total 
gross tonnage of 59,521, counting each arrival separately. 

IMPORTS OF YARN. 

With the rapid decline in Scottish spinning and the slower decline 
in Scottish weaving an increasing proportion of the yarn has been 
obtained from abroad. Most of this yarn comes from Belgium and 
France, with smaller amounts from Germany and Russia. For Scot- 
land, practically the entire yarn import enters at the port of Leith. 
imports there amounting in 1900 to 12,202,041 pounds, in 1905 to 
8,980,011, in 1910 to 11,260,918, and in 1911 to 11,851,757 pounds. 
Owing to the coarse class of goods manufactured in Scotland, the 
Scottish imports of yarn, as was shown to be the case with raw flax 
imports, amount to almost half of the total for the United Kingdom, 
though the Scottish looms number less than half of the total looms. 

PROCESSES OF MANUFACTURE. 

The processes in the dry-spinning flax mills of Scotland are usually 
as follows: 

Hackling rooms. — Roughing (optional) ; machine hackling. 

Preparing room. — Spreading; drawing (2 or 3 processes) ; roving 
frame. 

Spinning room. — Dry spinning. 

Yarn department. — Reeling; bundling and baling. 

As Scotland requires chiefly coarse yarns, and the fine yarns neces- 
sary are obtainable from either the Continent or Ireland, dry spinning 
is the rule. Dry-spun flax yarns range from 20 pounds per spyndle 
(having a weight of 20 pounds per spyndle of 14,400 yards and 
equivalent to 2 lea linen or No. 0.86 cotton yarn) up to as fine as 2 
pounds per spyndle, equal to 24 lea linen or No. 8.57 cotton yarn. A 
trifle is spun to up 1J pounds per spyndle, equal to 32 lea linen or No. 
11.43 cotton yarn, but 2-pound yarn is usually taken as the limit of 
the dry-spinning frame. The standard size on which prices are 
usually based is that of 3 pounds per spyndle, equivalent to 16 lea 
linen or No. 5.71 cotton yarn. 

HACKLING AND PREPARING. 

In the Scottish spinning trade there is no sorting process as in the 
Irish fine-yarn mills, and even roughing is rather rare. Very coarse 
flaxes are not worth the expense of roughing, while the better marks 
of coarse flaxes, such as Archangel and Rjeff, are generally even and 
tidy enough not to show the omission of roughing when woven into 
heavy goods. Stacking, which is a simpler and cheaper system of 
hand dressing, is sometimes used instead ; it consists mainly of a mere 
draw over the pin points of the hackle to level the fiber. 

The hackling machines are similar to those described for Ireland, 
though fewer mills have adopted the duplex machine. The extra 
labor required on the old-style t}^pes of single machines is made up 
by using larger pieces and by running the machines considerably 
faster. The exceptionally high rate of speed in the Scottish mills 
causes great wear and tear on the machines, and it is claimed by some 
authorities to be detrimental to the vield of dressed line. 



86 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

The spreading machine is similar in type to that described for Ire- 
land, though with the necessary modifications as to Coarser hackles, 
etc., to suit the coarser flax used ; they are also operated at excessive 
speeds. The same is true of the drawing frames and of the roving 
machine, except that more than three processes of drawing are never 
used. 

DRY-SPINNING SYSTEM. 

The dry-spinning frame, aside from the absence of the water 
troughs, differs in many ways from the wet-spinning frame. The 
drawing and retaining rollers are of steel. The top one is fluted, but 
the bottom, or drawing, roller is merely scored sufficiently to give it 
gripping power, as the dry fibers with an ordinary weight have little 
tendency to slip. Pressing rollers are placed behind the long rollers 
and are pressed against them by means of a lever and weight. 

In wet spinning the fibers, after coming through the water trough, 
are stuck together, and how far they are to be drawn depends on the 
strength and size of the yarn to be made; hence, the reach, or dis- 
tance between the pairs of feed and drawing rollers, is changed to 
suit the different conditions by raising or lowering the top roller the 
required distance. In dry spinning the ultimate fibers are not dis- 
turbed and the long fibers are drawn past each other, so that after 
being once adjusted to the length of the fiber being spun the reach 
is not altered. The reach of dry-spinning frames is, of course, much 
longer and varies from 7-J- inches for tow up to the 18 inches custom- 
ary for flax. 

In dry spinning the flyer, though doing the same work and placed 
on the spindle in the same manner as for wet spinning, differs in 
construction and in the way it transfers the yarn from the roller to 
the bobbin, etc. The brass eye used in wet spinning is discarded, the 
leg of the flyer is slightly flattened into a fish-tailed shape, and an 
eye is cut out of the center for the passage of the yarn. In dry spin- 
ning the spindle is also placed directly under the drawing-roller de- 
livery instead of slightly forward, as for wet spinning, hence there is 
less strain on the material. This is one reason why poor yarns in 
heavy counts can be spun more easily dry than wet from the same 
material and with less twist. Some dry-spun yarns are made on 
ring spinning frames. 

Dry-spun yarns, of course, need no drying, and the bobbins, which 
are much larger than those used for fine wet-spun yarns, are carried 
direct to the reel room, where the yarn is reeled into 90-inch hanks 
and then bundled. A considerable proportion of the dry-spun yarn 
is made from tow. 

The operations of the factory — weft and warp winding, warping, 
dressing, drawing-in, and weaving — differ in no essential particulars 
from those described for Irish weave sheds. 

NUMBERING, ETC., OF DRY-SPUN YARNS. 

Irish wet-spun yarns are numbered on the lea system, by which 
the number, or count, of the yarn means the number of 300-yard 
leas that weigh 1 pound. Dry-spun flax yarns, on the other hand, 
are numbered the same as jute yarns, and in this case the basis is 
not the pound, but an arbitrary length of 48 cuts, or leas, of 300 
yards each, which make up a spyndle of 14,400 yards, the weight 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 



87 



in pounds of a spyndle being the count of the yarn. For instance, 
3-pound yarn means that a spyndle of 14,400 yards weighs 3 pounds; 
4-pound yarn means that a spyndle weighs 4 pounds, etc. As a spyn- 
dle is 48 leas, dividing 48 by the pounds per spyndle gives the equiv- 
alent in leas; or, dividing 48 by the lea count gives the count in 
pounds per spyndle. 

As the spyndle basis is used for both dry-spun flax and jute yarns, 
and as it is conducive to a clearer understanding of yarn quota- 
tions, etc., to know the equivalent in lea or cotton yarns, the fol- 
lowing table is given showing the equivalents of spyndle and lea 
yarns in terms of each other and of cotton counts : 



Scottish dry-spun flax and jute counts as basis. 


Irish wet-spun flax or lea counts as basis. 


Pounds per spyndle of 14,400 
yards. 


Linen 
leas of 

300 
yards. 


Cotton 

hanks of 

840 

yards. 


Linen leas of 300 yards. 


I 
Pounds 

per 

spvndle 

of 14,400 

yards. 


Cotton 

hanks of 

840 

yards. 


1 


48.00 
32.00 
27. 43 
24.00 
21.33 
19.20 
17.45 
16.00 
13.71 
12.00 
10.66 
9.60 
8.73 
8.00 
7.38 
6.86 
6.40 
6. 00- 
5.65 
5.33 
5.05 
4.80 
4.57 
4.36 
4.17 
4.00 
3.69 
3.43 
3.20 
3.00 
2.67 
2.40 
2.18 
2.00 
1.85 
1.71 
1.60 
1.50 
1.41 
1.33 
1.26 
1.20 
1.14 
1.09 
1.04 
1.00 
.96 
.80 
.69 
.60 
.53 
.48 
.32 
.24 
.19 
.16 
.14 
.12 


17. 143 
11.43 

9.79 

8.57 

7.62 

6.86 

6.23 

5.71 

4.89 

4.28 . 

3.81 

3.43 

3.12 

2.86 

2.64 

2.45 

2.29 

2.14 

2.02 

1.90 

1.80 

1.71 

1.63 

1.56 

1.49 

1.43 

1.32 

1.22 

1.14 

1.07 
.95 
.86 
.78 
.71 
.66 
.61 
.57 
.54 
.50 
.48 
= 45 
.43 
.41 
.39 
.37 
.36 
.34 
.29 
.24 
21 
.19 
.17 
.11 
.089 
.069 
.057 
.049 
.043 


1 


48.00 

24.00 

16.00 

12.00 

9.60 

8.00 

6.86 

6.00 

5.33 

4.80 

4.00 

3.43 

3.00 

2.67 

2.40 

2.18 

1.92 

1.60 

1.50 

1.37 

1.20 

1.07 

.96 

.87 

.80 

.74 

. .69 

.64 

.60 

.56 

.53 

.51 

.48 

.44 

.40 

.37 

.34 

.32 

.30 

.28 

.27 

.25 

.24 

.19 

.16 

.14 

.12 


0.357 


li. . 


2 t 


.71 


If. . 


3 '. 


1.07 


2 


4 


1.43 


2\ 


5 


1.79 


2\ 


6 


2.14 


2f 


7 


2.50 


3 . 


8 


2.86 


3| 


•9 


3.21 


4 


10 


3.58 


4J. .. 


12 


4.29 


5 


14 


5.00 


h\ 


16 


5.71 


6 


18 


6.43 


6i 


20 


7.14 


7 


22 


7.86 


1\ 


25 


8.93 


8 


30 


10.71 


8* 


32 


11. 43 


9... 


35 


12.50 


9J 


'40 


14.29 


10 


45 


16.07 




50 


17.86 


11 


55 


19.64 


11* 


60 


21.43 


12 


65 


23.21 


13 


70 


25.01 


14 : 


75 


26.80 


15 


80 


28.57 


16 


85 


30.36 


18 


90 


32.13 


20... ..... 


95 


33.93 


22 


100 


35.71 


24 


110 


39.29 


26 


120 


42.86 


28 


130 


46.43 


30 


140 


50.00 


32 


150 


53.57 


34 


160 


57.14 


36 


170 


60.71 


38 


180 , 


64.29 


40 


190 


67.86 


42 


200 


71. 43 


44 


250 


89.29 


46 


300 .... 


107. 14 


48 


350 


125. 00 


50 


400 


142. 86 


60 , 






70 




80 




90 




100 




150 




200 




250 




300 




400 









88 



LINER, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



VARIATIONS IN SYSTEMS. 

In the Irish linen trade the sett of the warp in the reed is based on 
the number of hundreds of splits, two ends in a split, in a standard 
width of 40 inches; thus 8 ,)0 linen in Ireland means that it was 
woven with a reed having 800 splits, or 1,600 ends, in a width of 40 
inches. In Scotland the Scotch ell of 37 inches is the standard 
breadth for linen and jute fabrics. In the West of Scotland, or 
Glasgow, scale, the reed is indicated by the number of hundreds of 
splits, two ends to the split, in this standard width of 37 inches, but 
this scale is used only for cotton. The East of Scotland scale is that 
used for most linen and for jute fabrics in Scotland, and in this case 
the hundreds of splits are divided into five parts, called porters, and 
the sett of the warp in the reed is indicated by the number of porters 
of 20 splits, or 40 ends, in the standard width of 37 inches. For 
instance, if a cloth is woven with a reed having 1,000 splits, embracing 
2,000 ends, in 37 inches of width, it is called in the East of Scotland 
trade a 50-porter cloth; if the reed has 800 splits in 37 inches it is 
called a 40-porter cloth, etc. 

The East of Scotland scale is that generally used in the Scottish 
linen trade, but there are also some special scales. Damask manu- 
facturers frequently use the old method of denominating the reed by 
the number of beers, or porters, of 40 ends each in the full width of 
the cloth, while drill is frequently based on the number of beers of 
40 ends each in a standard width of 30 inches. The more rational 
method of giving the warp ends per inch multiplied by the reed width 
is favored by some, but rarely used. 

In the textile terminology of the United Kingdom, whether in the 
linen, the cotton, the woolen, or other industry, there has always been 
great confusion between the systems used, not only in different sec- 
tions but between towns in the same section. 

In Ireland the sett of the weft in linens is indicated by the num- 
ber of picks or shots under a 37-inch glass — that is, the number of 
picks in thirty-seven two-hundredths, or 0.185, of an inch. This 
system is used in some sections of the Scottish linen trade, but coarse 
goods are more often given in terms of picks per inch, owing to the 
impracticability of giving picks of coarse yarn in so small a space as 
0.185 of an inch. 

COMMERCIAL QUOTATIONS. 

Russian flax is used almost exclusively in the Scottish dry-spinning 
trade, and the following are the Dundee prices on January 1, 1913, 
of the qualities regularly quoted in the Dundee Prices Current and 
Trade Report: 



Class. 



Riga: 

Livonian K 

Courish K 

HoffsD 

St. Petersburg: 

Bejetsky 

Yarapol, first sort. 

Sytcheffka 

Dorpat D 

Pernau D 

Kama £ and £ Tow 

Novgorod 7/3 

Mologyn \ and \ . . 



Price per ton. 



English currency. American currency. 



£ 
32 
30 
27 

44 
37 
36 
39 
36 
41 
42 
39 



s. £ s. 

0to32 10 

0to30 10 

0to27 10 



10 to 45 

0to37 

0to37 

10 to 40 

0to36 

10 to 42 

10 to 43 

10 to 40 



$155. 73 to $158. 16 
146 to 148.43 
131. 40 to 133.83 



216. 56 to 
180. 06 to 
175. 19 to 
192. 23 to 
175. 19 to 
201. 96 to 
206. 83 to 
192. 23 to 



221.43 
182. 49 
180. 06 
194. 66 
177.63 
206.83 
209. 26 
194. 66 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 



89 



These prices are ex warehouse, 3 per cent cash in 14 days ; or for 
shipment, less 1| per cent for cash, or 3 months net. 



FLAX AND TOW YARNS. 



The range of dry-spun yarns for ordinary linens is from 1J to 4^ 
pounds per spyndle, while canvas yarns run from 4J to 20 pounds 
per spyndle. The following are the Dundee prices per spyndle on 
January 1, 1913, of the flax and tow yarns regularly quoted in the 
Dundee Prices Current and Trade Report: 



Yarns. 


Weft, per spindle. 


Warp, per spindle. 


English currency. 


American currency. 


English currency. 


A merican cu rrency . 


Flax yarns: 

2 pounds 


s. d. s. d. 
1 9J to 1 10 

1 10J to 1 11 

2 1 to 2 1J 
2 2 to 2 2| 
2 3 to 2 3} 

9JtoO 9-1- 

2 1 
2 2Jto2 3 
2 3£to2 4 
2 7 to 2 7§ 
2 10 to 2 104 


Cents. 

43. 6 to 44. 6 

45. 6 to 46. 6 

• 50. 7 to 51. 7 

52. 7 to 53. 7 

54. 7 to 55. 7 
18. 3 to 18. 5 

50.7 

53. 7 to 54. 7 

55. 7 to 56. 8 
62. 9 to 63. 9 
68. 9 to 69. 9 


s. d. s. d. 
2 2 to 2 3 
2 2 to 2 3 
2 2Jto2 3| 
2 3 to 2 5 
2 5 to 2 6 
9JtoO 9f 

2 3 to 2 4 
2 5 to 2 6 
2 6 to 2 7 

2 10 to 3 

3 to 3 3 


Cents. 
52. 7 to 54. 7 


2\ pounds 


52. 7 to 54. 7 


2\ pounds 


53. 7 to 55. 7 


2§ pounds 


54. 7 to 58. 8 


3 pounds 


58. 8 to 60. 8 


3 J to 6 pounds 

Tow yarns: 

3 pounds 


19.0 to 19. 5 
54. 7 to 56. 8 


3J pounds 


58. 8 to 60. 8 


4 pounds 


60. 8 to 62. 9 


5 pounds 


68. 9 to 73.0 


6 pounds 


' 73.0 to 79.1 







Yarn weighing 3 pounds per spyndle is usually taken as the stand- 
ard and prices are based on this number. 

COMPARATIVE PRICES OF RAW MATERIALS AND YARNS. 

In buying and selling at Dundee, flax and tow are always quoted 
by the English ton of 2,240 pounds. The imported fine wet-spun 
yarns are quoted by the bundle of 60,000 yards (equal to 4^ spyndles), 
less 5 per cent discount delivered; but dry-spun flax and tow yarns 
are quoted by the spyndle of 14,400 yards, less 3 per cent prompt 
cash. 

According to the Dundee Prices Current and Trade Report the 
following were the comparative prices at Dundee on prominent flaxes 
and tows and on some standard flax and tow yarns on the 1st day of 
January for the past 13 years : 





Flax. 


Tow. 


Flax yarns. 


Tow yarns. 


Years. 


Bejetsky. 


Pernau. 


Hoffs. 


Novgo- 
rod?^. 


2^-pound 
weft. 


3-pound 
warp. 


3-pound 
weft. 


5-pound 
warp. 


1901 


$221.43 

172. 76 
148. 43 
228. 73 
160.59 
197. 09 
182. 49 
177.63 
170.33 
194. 66 
228. 73 
194. 66 
216. 56 


$194. 66 
146. 00 
131.40 
182. 49 
148. 43 
158.16 
143.56 
116. 80 
126. 53 
152. 08 
180. 06 
155. 73 
175.19 


$146. 00 

102. 20 

94.90 

136. 26 

99.76 

107. 06 

99.76 

73.00 

85.16 

107. 06 

136. 26 

111.93 

131.40 


$197. 09 
148. 43 
143.56 
199. 53 
150. 86 
170.33 
160. 59 
143. 56 
155. 73 
155. 73 
180. 06 
158. 16 
206.83 


Cents. 
39.5 
37.5 
35.5 
39.5 
39.5 
41.6 
44.6 
47.6 
38.5 
40.6 
48.7 
46.6 
50.7 


Cents. 
54.7 
45.6 
43.6 

48.7 
46.6 
48.7 
51.7 
52.7 
44.6 
49.7 
57.8 
56.8 
58.8 


Cents. 
34.5 
33.4 
35.5 
43.6 
38.0 
40.6 
48.7 
42.6 
37.5 
37.5 
41.6 
41.1 
50.7 


Cents. 
47.6 


1902 


44.6 


1903 


48.7 


1904 


56.8 


1905 


51.7 


1906 


54.7 


1907 


56.8 


1908 


58.8 


1909 


50.7 


1910 


50.7 


1911 


53.7 


1912 


56.8 


1913.. 


.68.9 







90 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

DETAILS OF SCOTTISH FLAX GOODS. 



Tables published by William Leggatt, of Dundee, furnish interest- 
ing data as to some of the goods made in large quantities in Scottish 
flax factories. He states that all canvas for His Majesty's Navy must 
be made wholly from the longs of the best British, Irish, Riga, or 
Reval flax, or from the best long white Dutch, Flemish, or Friesland 
flax; that all such canvas is 18 or 24 inches wide, the former being 
used only for a few special sails. 

ROYAL NAVY CANVAS. 

There are eight classified numbers of 24-inch Royal Navy canvas, 
which is used for sails, as follows : 



1 
No. 


Reed. 


Warp 
ends. 


Shots. 


Length 
warp. 


Length 
cloth. 


Weight 
cloth. 


Yarn counts. 


Waip. 


Weft, 


1 


24f 

24f 

24f 

24? 

24f 

26 

28 

28 


1,300 

1,308 
1,320 
1,324 
1,324 
1,392 
772 
776 


15* 
16" 

m 

191 

20 
22 
25 
27 


Yards. 

481 

m 

48| 
48J 

48 
48 
49 
48 


Yards. 
39 
39 
39 
39 
39 
39 
40 
40 


Pounds. 
46 
43 
40 
36 
33 
30 
27 
23 


Pounds. 
61 
6 

• 51 

5 

41 

H 

61 

51 


Pounds. 

181 


2 


17 


3 


15 


4 


12 


5 


11 


6 


10 


7 


61 

51 


8 





MERCHANT NAVY CANVAS. 



The 24-inch Merchant Navy canvas used by the Admiralty for 
awnings, etc., is as follows: 



No. 


Reed. 


Warp 
ends. 


Shots. 


Length 
warp. 


Length 
cloth. 


Weight 
cloth. 


Yarn counts. 


Warp. 


Weft. 


1 


26 
26 
24 1 
24f 

2J* 

26 

26 


1,364 
1,368 
1,304 
1,312 
1,320 
1,392 
1,420 


141 

15 

17 

18 

20 

22 

24 


Yards. 
521 
521 
521 
521 
521 
521 
52 


Yards. 
42 
42 
42 
42 
42 
42 
42 


Pounds. 
48 
44 
41 
38 
35 
32 
29 


Pounds. 
61 
6 
51 
5 
5 

41 
31 


Pound*. 
20 


2 


19 


3 


15 


4 


12 


5 


9 


6 

7 


7 
'•1 







The Royal Navy canvas is required to have a testing strength 
about a third higher than that for Merchant Navy canvas. The 
yarns for navy canvas are prepared entirely without chlorine; they 
are twice boiled w T ith ashes and carefully washed after each boiling 
with w T ater to eliminate the vegetable matter so far as possible. 
The Royal Navy canvas is made without stripes, and that for the 
Merchant Navy class has one stripe. 

The United States Government Navy canvas is stated to be also 
of a very high quality, being made wholly from flax ; but it is of a dif- 
ferent make, being only 20 inches wide. The numbers from 1 to 5 
are made with double warp and two-ply twisted weft, while Nos. 7 
and 8 are made from single yarn. They also have a blue stripe, 



LINEN INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 



91 



which is 1 J inch from the selvage of No. 1 and varies to 1-J inch from 
the selvage for No. 8. The bolts are made 40 yards long, with 
weights as follows: No. 1, 47 pounds; No. 2, 44 pounds; No. 3, 41 
pounds ; No. 4, 37 pounds ; No. 5, 34 pounds ; No. 6, 31 pounds ; No. 7, 
28 pounds ; No. 8, 24 pounds. 



BLEACHED CANVAS. 



The 24-inch bleached canvas, 
bers, as follows: 



starched, is classified in seven num- 



No. 


Reed. 


Warp 

ends. 


Shots. 


Length 
warp. 


Length 
cloth. 


Weight 
cloth. 


Yarn. 


Warp. 


Weft. 


1 


26 
26 
24 
24 
24 
24 
24 


1,360 
1,364 
1,268 
1,272 
1,280 
1,288 
1,296 


16 

18 

18 

18| 

20 

24 

24 


Yards. 
45 
45 
45 

45 
44 1 
44,1 
44 


Yards. 
36 
36 
36 
36 
36 
36 
36 


Pounds. 
37f 
341 
32 
291 
26 \ 
23f 
21 


6-lb. tow 
...do 
...do 
...do 
...do 
...do 
...do 


16-lb. tow. 


2 


14-lb. tow. 


3 


12-lb. tow 


4 


11-lb. tow. 


5 


9-lb. tow. 


6 


5-lb. tow. 




Do. 







. OTHER FLAX GOODS. 

Some other Scottish makes of flax goods are shown in the following 
table : 

TARPAULIN. 



Reed. 


Width. 


Warp 
ends. 


Shots. 


Length 
warp. 


Length 
cloth. 


Weight 
cloth. 


Yarn. 


Warp. 


Weft. 


22 


27 
30 
30 
30 
30 
30 
30 


1,316 

1,444 
1,444 
1,320 
1,450 
1,320 
1,320 


15 
15 
16 
19 
18 
16 
16| 


Yards. 
68| 
68i 
68i 
71" 
71 
71 
71 


Yards. 
56 
54 
54 
55 
55 
56 
•56 


Pounds. 
49i 
54 
58 
57 
61 
54 
57 


4-lb. flax 


14-lb. tow 


22 


do 

do 


Do. 


22 


Do. 


20 


5-lb. tow 


10-lb. jute tow. 
llj-lb. flax. 
15-lb. tow. 


22 


do 


20 


4-lb. flax 


20 


do 


Do. 









DUCK. 



32 
32 
38 
40 
42 
32 
34 
36 
40 
42 
44 
46 
48 
53 



27 


992 


15 


175 


150 


91 


27£ 


1,016 


15 


182i 


152 


94 


27 


1,200 


15 


164 


140 


81 


27 


1,260 


15| 


127 


105 


63| 


27 


1,320 


15* 


127 


105 


63f 


26 


930 


17 


167 


137 


52f 


26 


1,016 


17J 


170 


140 


58 


26 


1,068 


18 


172 


142 


62 


26 


1,180 


19 


172 


142 


62 


26 


1,236 


18 


177 


147 


70 


26 


1,308 


18 


180 


150 


70 


26 


1,334 


18 


180 


150 


68 


26 


1,410 


20 


134 


-104 


51 


26 


1,544 


22 


134 


104 


42 



4i-lb. flax 
4-lb. flax. 
....do... 
....do... 
....do... 
.-lb. flax. 
18-lea flax 
....do... 
20-lea flax 
18-lea flax 
....do... 
20-lea flax 
....do... 
22-lea flax 



41-lb. flax. 
5-lb. tow. 
4-lb. flax. 

Do. 

Do. 
2i-lb. flax. 
20-lea flax. 
18-lea flax. 
20-lea flax. 
18-lea flax. 

Do. 
20-lea flax. 
22-lea flax. 
25-lea flax. 



DOWLAS. 



28 


27 
40 
40 
50 


872 
1,280 
1,380 
1,820 


14 
15 
16 
17 


182i 
180 
182| 
182 


152 
155 
155 
155 


91 


4J-lb. flax 
3i-lb. flax 
do 


5-lb. flax. 


28 

30 


3|-lb. tow. 
Do. 


32 


66 


3-lb. flax 


3-lb. flax. 



92 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 
FLAX SHEETING. 



Reed. 


Width. 


Warp 
ends. 


Shots. 


Length 
warp. 


Length 
cloth. 


Weight 
cloth. 


Yarn. 


Warp. 


Weft. 


34 


42 
41 
44 
40 
40 
.40 
42 
42 


1,628 
1,780 
1,594 
1,194 
1,280 
1,380 
3,448 
3,690 


17 
15 
16 
14 
15 
16 
37 
40 


Yards. 
182J 
185 
85 
177^ 
180 
180 
155 
155 


Yards. 
152 
152 
•71 
164 
164 
164 
155 
155 


Pounds. 
124 

m 

65 
86 
90 
94 


4-lb. flax 

3-lb. flax 

do 

do 

do 

do 

70-lea flax 

80-lea flax 


3-lb flax 


38 


2-lb flax 


32 


4-lb flax 


26 


3J-lb tow 


28 


Do 


30 


Do 


73 




78 









The figures for the reed indicate, as previously explained for the 
East of Scotland scale, the number of porters of 20 splits, 2 ends to a 
split, in the standard width of 37 inches. 

OPERATIVES AND WAGES. 

Of the 95,950 operatives engaged in the linen industry in 1904, 
62,194 were employed in Ireland, 27,523 in Scotland, and 6,233 in 
England. In 1907 the total had increased to 100,475, but there was 
practically no change in the number employed in Scotland and Eng- 
land, and the increase was due to Ireland, which then numbered 
67,027. 

The latest Government figures as to wages in the linen industry 
of the United Kingdom are those for 1906, which give the average 
weekly wages of .full timers in the various sections, as follows : 





Ireland. 


Scotland. 


England. 


United 
Kingdom. 


Operatives. 


Belfast 
district. 


*Other 
districts. 


Fife- 
shire. 


Forfar- 
shire. 


Other 
districts. 


Men: 

Rouehers 


$5.27 
4.05 


$4.18 
3.49 


$5.35 


$5.39 


$6.00 




$5.15 


Weavers 


$4.30 


3.57 












All men 


6.37 


4.54 


6.00 


5.27 


5.96 


5.53 


5.43 






All lads and boys 


1.86 

2.53 
2.74 
2.74 
2.82 


1.60 

2.29 
2.39 
2.29 
2.45 


2.09 

2.39 
2.41 
2.30 
2.96 


2.11 

2.43 
2.82 
3.14 
2.96 


2.13 

2.68 
2.98 
3.14 
3.47 


2.05 


1.86 


Women: 

Spinners 


2.45 


Reelers 




2.61 


Winders 


2.80 
2.61 


2.74 


Weavers 


2.80 






All women 


2.63 


2.37 


2.90 


2.80 


2.86 


2.63 


2.61 






All girls 


1.56 


1.44 


1.68 


1.76 


2.03 


1.60 


1.60 


Total, all workers 


2.86 


2.68 


3.26 


3.00 


3.34 


2.96 


2.92 



Wages in the flax industry, of Scotland are governed largely by 
those paid in the larger jute industry, and in flax manufacturing 
the operatives average higher in Scotland than in Ireland, with the 
exception of the men in the Belfast section, where the higher aver- 
age is due to the large number of higher-paid roughers and sorters. 
It is estimated that since these tables Avere compiled the average 
wages in the Irish industry have advanced about 6d. (12 cents), 
and in the Scottish about Is. (24 cents), so that the average wages 
in Scotland are proportionately higher than they were in 1905. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 

Jute is the cheapest fiber in commercial use to-day and, excepting 
cotton, the most extensively employed. The Bureau of the Census 
in 1909 estimated the world's production of the principal fibers as 
follows: Cotton, 8,505,191.000 pounds; jute, 2,918,000,000 pounds; 
wool, 2,763,310,000 pounds* flax, 1,872,127,000 pounds; hemp, 1,453,- 
186,000 pounds; silk, 85,048,000 pounds. 

Jute is grown almost exclusively in the Province of Bengal in 
India and is the only one of the six great textile fibers that is a 
monopoly of a single country. Cotton, wool, flax, and silk, while used 
for many purposes, find their greatest use as clothing; hemp is dis- 
tinctively a cordage material, while jute is a wrapping and sacking 
material. 

Jute is the weakest, most perishable, least lustrous, and least showy 
of all fibers in use to-day. It owes its lead among the lower textile 
fibers to its cheapness, which is due mainly to its great production per 
acre and to the ease with which it can be prepared, spun, and woven 
under modern methods. 

• EARLY HISTORY OF INDUSTRY. 

Jute was used in India for a long time in making cordage, sacking, 
and coarse clothing by hand, but as a world fiber it ranks among the 
youngest. The jute industry of to-day grew out of the flax, tow, and 
hemp industries, which had existed in and around Dundee for cen- 
turies, and Dundee was the first to apply machinery to its manufac- 
ture. In 1824 the East India Company shipped some jute to Dundee 
to see what could be made of it ; but the samples were harsh, brittle, 
and dirty, and after one or two perfunctory trials the flax industry 
refused to have anything to do with such uninviting material. Jts 
great length was considered one of the chief drawbacks ; but in 1832, 
after further experiments, the long jute fiber was teased in a breaker 
and reduced to tow, in which shape it was used to mix with flax. The 
first trials at spinning it separately were a failure, and the adultera- 
tion of flax with jute was regarded as so obnoxious that " warranted 
free from Indian jute " became a standard condition of business in 
the Dundee flax trade of the time. It was not until 1835 that the 
first yarns of pure jute were sold on the Dundee market, and it was 
not until about 1838, after the invention of a machine for softening 
the fiber before working it and after various adaptations and improve- 
ments had been made in the existing flax machinery, that the jute 
industry may be said to have become firmly established. By 1855, 
however, the manufacture of the new fiber had proved so successful 
and profitable that a great majority of the Dundee spinners and 
weavers changed from flax to jute. To-day there are only three 

93 



94 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

firms at Dundee that spin flax, and two of these spin almost as much 
jute as flax. 

Dundee had an absolute monopoly of the world's machine manu- 
facture of jute for some years following 1838, and it was not until 
1855 that the first jute machinery was sent to India. In 1861 the 
first small jute mill was started on the Continent, and for a con- 
siderable number of years thereafter Dundee maintained its position 
as the jute center of the world. Dundee really represents the jute 
industry of the United Kingdom, for the output of the few isolated 
jute mills at Aberdeen and other points forms a negligible part of 
the total. The mills on the Hoogly have checked the growth of the 
mills on the Tay, but next to Calcutta the city of Dundee is still the 
iargest single center and leads in the production of the finer yarns 
and cloths. 

PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS. 

The principal products here have always been yarns, hessians (bur- 
laps), D. W. (double-warp) bagging and tarpaulin, and twilled 
sacking, with sacks, bags, and covers made therefrom. The chief 
product has always been hessians, which in the United States are 
called burlaps. At first Dundee manufactured for the hessian trade 
and Calcutta for the coarse bagging trade, but within more recent 
years Calcutta has become a formidable rival in hessians, and a 
majority of the Indian looms are now on this material; moreover, 
they are yearly engaging further in the manufacture of the finer 
grades. Dundee goods, however, are considered of better quality and 
usually bring better prices than Calcutta hessians of the same general 
make. The Indian mills also prefer to work on large orders, while 
Dundee will fill small orders of more widely varying constructions 
and widths. A small proportion of the jute handled at Dundee is 
hackled and prepared in the same way as flax and made into line 
yarns for window drapery, paddings, etc. 

On account of the cheapness of the fiber, new uses have been 
found for it from time to time, and as the manufacture of the com- 
moner grades has been threatened by the extension of the industry 
in India or on the Continent, Dundee manufacturers have been 
compelled to turn their attention to specialties to supplement the 
ordinary run of fabrics. It was found that jute could be dyed in 
very delicate shades, and though at first considered unblea enable 
methods have been found of bringing it to a considerable degree of 
whiteness. It was early used in carpet manufacture and this branch 
has been extended and perfected. Not only stair carpets and mat- 
tings but Brussels, Wilton, Scotch, and other carpets are now made 
partially and in some cases wholly of jute; rugs, towels, upholstery 
cloths, etc., are also manufactured. Another avenue opened up was 
in the manufacture of wide widths of hessian cloth for the founda- 
tion of linoleum and other floorcloths, and in the last 10 years or so 
many wide looms have been substituted for narrower looms whose 
product had become increasingly difficult to market. Great develop- 
ment in the spinning of jute yarns for use as cords, twines, and even 
ropes has taken place within the last few years, and this is now an 
important branch in many Dundee mills. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN" SCOTLAND. 95 

TREND OF INDUSTRY SINCE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 

The basis of the present extensive manufacture of jute at Dundee 
was laid at the time of the American Civil War, which made cotton 
so high that there was a search for cheaper materials. It was found 
that jute was suitable for bags and many other articles for which 
cotton had theretofore been used. Dundee manufacturers promptly 
took advantage of the opportunity thus presented, and the great 
fortunes then made enabled them to put the industry on a sound 
footing. Later they also invaded the market for tow bags and suc- 
ceeded in supplanting flax as well as cotton in many lines. Large 
fortunes have been made in the Dundee industry, but its advance has 
been checked by the huge and rapidly expanding industry on the 
Hoogly, not to mention its extension in many of the principal markets 
on the Continent and elsewhere. It has had to fight for its existence 
and there have been many ups and downs. 

In the early years of the present century there was such a lull in 
the jute trade that by 1905 much machinery was idle, but in 1906 the 
world seemed suddenly to become hungry for jute fabrics again, 
and 1906 and 1907 were periods of great prosperity. There was then 
another quiet period, and 1910 and the first six months of 1911 were 
a period of great stagnation, which resulted in short time and stop- 
page of machinery, not only in Dundee but in India and on the 
Continent. Spinners and weavers who continued running, mostly on 
short time, made largely to stock, and the demand seemed to become 
weaker and weaker, especially for hessians. Probably never before 
were the stocks so immense or was there more idle machinery. At 
last, however, it reached a point where demand overtook production, 
buyers woke up, and the demand once started appeared insatiable. 
By the end of 1912 the immense stocks had not only disappeared 
but many' manufacturers were sold ahead to the end of 1913 and 
some beyond that time. Dundee holds the opinion that on top of the 
short time the prolonged strike in the Dundee works was the finishing 
touch that brought supply and demand to an equalizing point, and 
introduced a period of unexampled prosperity. This spurt has not 
only been one of the most successful in the history of the trade, but at 
the present time (May, 1913) is still very strong, and no machinery 
is idle for which hands can be obtained. Even greater results would 
probably have been attained had not the stoppage of a large Dunclee 
shipbuilding works in 1912 caused the removal of many families, so 
that there have not been sufficient operatives to meet the demands of 
the factories. 

RAW MATERIALS. 

In order of value, the principal articles with which India partially 
pays the United Kingdom for Manchester cottons, etc., are grain, tea. 
seeds, raw jute, hides and siring, wool, cotton, and jute manufactures. 
Eaw jute, therefore, occupies fourth place in the export trade of 
India with the United Kingdom, while manufactured jute occupies 
eighth. 

Dundee records show an import of 300 tons of raw jute in 1836 and 
of 1,136 tons in 1838. Prior to 1853 the statistics of the United King- 
dom lumoed raw jute with hemp, but in that year there was shown 



96 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



an import of 13,779 tons of raw jute, of a value not stated, with a 
reexport of 374 tons. The quantity and value of the jute imported 
into the United Kingdom and the amount retained for consumption 
have been as follows: 





Imports. 


Reexports. 


Retained 
for con- 
sumption. 


Years. 


Quantity. 


Total value. 


Value per 
pound. 


1855 


Tons. 

26, 965 

40,839 

118,835 

231,945 

369. 958 
280, 919 
321,331 
414, 553 
240, 090 
306, 433 
336, 855 
369,789 
363,835 
354, 028 
304, 660 
296, 720 

300. 959 
384,984 


$2,176,138 
3,216,333 
11,323,908 
19,557,490 
23,952,869 
20,120,004 
21,053,297 
25,797,010 
15, 752, 238 
20, 428, 555 
27,948,076 
40,592,606 
39,736,212 
28,633.620 
22,434,443 
22, 727, 845 
29,180,318 
40,597,175 


Cents. 
3.60 
3.52 
4.25 
3.57 
2.89 
3.19 
2.92 
2.77 
2.89 
2.97 
3.70 
4.90 
4.87 
3.61 
3.29 
3.42 
4.33 
4.71 


Tons. 
469 
1,816 

21,286 

54, 425 
109, 778 
107, 938 
121,965 
122, 700 

80, 583 
103,266 
110, 180 
138, 853 
138, 422 
104, 853 
105, 231 

95, 230 
109,657 
140, 396 


Tons. 

26,496 

39,023 

97, 549 

177, 520 

260, 180 

172,981 

199,366 

291,853 


1860 


1870 


1880 


1890 


1900 


1901 


1902 


1903 


159, 507 


1904 


203, 177 


1905 


226, 675 


1906 


230,936 


1907 


225, 413 


1908.... 


249, 175 


1909 


199, 429 


1910 


201,490 


1911 


190, 302 


1912 


244,588 







These figures show that the consumption of jute in the United 
Kingdom, while varying from year to year, has been practically sta- 
tionary for the last 30 years. In the last 12 years — 1901 to 1912, 
inclusive — the jute retained in the United Kingdom has amounted 
to 2,621,918 English tons, or an average of 218,493 tons a year. 

SHIPPING ROUTES AND FREIGHT CHARGES. 

The great bulk of the jute consumed at Dundee comes direct from 
India, while the imports at London are mainly for reshipment to 
the Continent. Of 226,309 tons of jute imported at Dundee in 1912, 
211,070 tons came in steamers direct from Calcutta and Chittagong, 
13,006 tons in coasting vessels from London or other points, 1,903 
tons from Continental ports, and 330 tons by rail. 

In the course of the season usually about 10 steamers from Chitta- 
gong and about 40 from Calcutta arrive loaded with jute. These 
vessels are from 2,000 to 5,300 gross tons in size and bring at a trip 
from 5,000 to 50,000 bales, averaging about 20,000 bales a trip. Most 
of the steamers take from 36 to 42 days for the run from Calcutta 
to Dundee, the speedier ones with favorable circumstances sometimes 
making it in 33 days, while occasionally one takes»over 50 days. 

Some raw jute is exported from Dundee to the United States and 
elsewhere, but the reexports from the United Kingdom consist prin- 
cipally of jute landed at London for reshipment to Continental cus- 
tomers. Of 109,657 tons of raw jute reexported from the United 
Kingdom in 1911, 27,427 tons went to France, 23,487 to Germany, 
18,076 to Belgium, 14,390 to the Netherlands, 5,793 to Mexico, 5,131 
to Spain, 4,783 to Russia, 3,795 to the United States, 3,305 tons to 
Brazil, and the small remainder to Norway, Sweden, and other coun- 
tries. 



JUTE INDUSTBY IN SCOTLAND. 97 

Shipments of a new crop from India start in quantity about Sep- 
tember, and the month of heaviest shipment is October, followed by 
November, September, and December. According to freight rates 
published by the Indian Government, in the last 30 years there has 
been a lowering of rates on most articles, especially those from Bom- 
bay, but rates on jute have increased. The lowest freight rates from 
Calcutta to London in October, the month of heaviest shipments, 
have been as follows for various years: 1890, $6.69; 1895, $4.87; 1900, 
$6.69; 1905, $4.26; 1910, $6.39; and 1911, $7.91. Freights vary con- 
siderably during a season, according to the law of supply and de- 
mand, etc. For instance, during the season of 1911-12 the rates 
from Calcutta to Dundee averaged around 30s. ($7.30), but varied 
from a minimum of 22s. 6d. ($5.47) to a maximum of 45s. ($10.95). 
However, there seems to be a strong tendency upward. Dundee 
freights are sometimes the same as London freights, but usually 
about a shilling higher. Calcutta freight rates on jute January 1, 
1913, were $8.52 to London, $8.82 to Dundee, and $9.43 to Hamburg. 
Jute bales weigh about 400 pounds and measure 10 cubic feet. Most 
freight rates are quoted per ton of 2,240 pounds or 40 cubic feet, at 
ship's option, but in the case of jute the rates are based on five bales, 
these weighing only 2,000 pounds but measuring 50 cubic feet. 

GRADING OF JUTE. 

The raw jute shipped from Calcutta is of many qualities, but in 
commerce it is usually classed under four general heads: Seragunge, 
produced in the Pabna and Mymensingh districts : Naraingunge, from 
the Dacca district; Daisee (or Desi), mainly produced in the dis- 
tricts around Calcutta; Dowrah (or Deora), from Bakerganj and 
Faridpur. Daisee is used at Dundee principally for hessians, while 
Dowrah is used for cordage. Uttariya, which is generally classed as 
the finest variety of jute, comes from the northern portions of 
Seragunge and that neighborhood, while Deswald, which is the next 
best variety, is also a Seragunge jute. Before pressing these different 
varieties are sorted and divided into three grades — fine, medium, 
and common. Each shipper has his registered trade-marks for the 
different grades from different sections, and Dundee merchants and 
spinners buy on their knowledge of the standard guaranteed by the 
trade-marks of the different shippers, making due allowance for the 
standing of the shipper. 

The finest jute imported comes under the " RFC " range of trade- 
marks; after these are the "First Marks," that is, the first quality 
marks of the best shippers ; then the " Daisee " assortment of marks ; 
then " ordinary firsts," and so on down to rejections and cuttings, or 
jute butts. There are numerous registered trade-marks, which usu- 
ally consist of black or red letters with or without certain geometrical 
figures, such as triangles, double triangles, circles, .diamonds, and 
hearts, and each represents to the trade a certain standard of jute. 

QUOTATIONS ON STANDARD MARKS. 

The standard marks regularly quoted by the jute importing firm 
of W. F. Soutar & Co., of Dundee, for instance, are as follows, the 

13002°— No. 74—13 7 



98 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



prices being from their circular of February 6, 1913, for the previous 
month of January : 



Marks. 




Rejections (Rallis and Davids) 

Rejections (natives) 

Cuttings (spinning) 



Price. 



£. s. to £. 



30 10 to 31 0. 

23 to 23 10. 

26 5 to 27 0. 

22 15 to 23 10. 

19 15 to 19 10. 

22 15 to 24 5. 

18 to 18 10. 

14 0. 

16 to 16 10. 



ARBITRATIONS. 

Usually on arrival at Dundee 10 per cent of the bales in a ship- 
ment are weighed and examined, but owing to much trouble with 
shipments in recent years, Avhich has led to hundreds of arbitrations 
in a season, shipments are now examined more closely and spinners 
now often wish to examine the whole lot before accepting. A stand- 
ing complaint of the Dundee trade is that in a shipment of a certain 
standard mark there will nearly always be found a certain number 
of bales of a lower-grade mark, and that, according to decisions of 
the courts, importers are compelled to accept these bales to fill out 
their bill of lading quantity. An allowance is made for the lower- 
grade material, but if the spinner is unable to use the latter and has 
to sell it and make additional purchases of the material he requires, 
this allowance is not considered much of a compensation. The court's 
decision still stands, but strenuous efforts are being made to get it 
reversed. 

Sometimes there are cases of false-packed bales and not infre- 
quently the jute is found to be heart damaged through having been 
kept without ventilation in the hold of the vessel. The damp heat to 
which it is unavoidably subjected on the long voyage from Calcutta 
tends to set up fermentation. If the cargo is properly looked after 
and ventilated this does not occur, except where the jute has been 
watered before shipment, in which case nothing the crew can do will 
prevent damage. 



JUTE INDUSTEY IN SCOTLAND. 99 

Great losses are sustained annually through the watering of jute 
fraudulently to gain weight and no representations on the part of 
either Calcutta or Dundee associations have yet been able to lessen 
this. Moistening of fiber that has once been dried causes it to lose 
both strength and color rapidly, and even if it does not rot so as to 
become unworkable the value is greatly depreciated. It is claimed 
that the weight fraudulently gained by watering amounts to the 
equivalent of several hundred thousand bales annually, and the prac- 
tice is so widespread that in 1910 the Director of Agriculture in 
India, much to the indignation of the trade it may be noted, revised 
his estimate of the jute outturn by adding 5 per cent for moisture. 
The damp jute received is not confined to native marks entirely, for 
the marks of even the most prominent and reliable European firms 
at Calcutta are not exempt, as they seem to be unable to have their 
jute delivered every season unwatered. The original cultivator, the 
humble ryot, sells his jute dry and it is claimed that the watering is 
done by the "bipari," or middleman, who gains additional weight 
and profit in this manner, frequently adding as much as 20 per cent 
of water and sand. In the case of first marks, if the allowance made 
by the experts who are called in to arbitrate the case is 20s. or over 
per ton, the Dundee purchaser has the option of taking it at the allow- 
ance or of invoicing it back at the market price, and shipments are 
not infrequently invoiced back in this way. 

In the matter of watering, of shipping fiber inferior to that ordered, 
etc., there seems to be much more trouble in the jute trade than in 
the cotton trade, even with cotton, shipped from India and Egypt, 
Avhere watering is often done openly; not to mention the fact that 
the watering of jute, owing to its perishable nature, is a much more 
serious matter than in the case of cotton. 

WAREHOUSING. 

On arrival at Dundee jute is usually stored in public warehouses 
by the importing merchant or spinner and a portion is transferred 
to the mill warehouse as required. The charge made by the public 
warehouses for storage and insurance varies, but is usually about 6d. 
per ton per month. 

Jute is very inflammable and many fires occur in the close-packed 
warehouses, in which case the danger is increased by the power jute 
has of absorbing water and expanding in volume. Jute will absorb 
water equal to its own weight and in doing so will expand enor- 
mously, an increase in bulk of 50 per cent being quite common. One 
of the most disastrous fires occurred December 24, 1912, in a jute 
warehouse belonging to Scott, Sons & Co. The flames not only caused 
damage to the extent of some £75,000, but the expansion of the water- 
soaked bales burst the walls of the warehouse and destroyed a near-by 
cottage, killing four children. Fires also frequently occur in cargoes 
of jute en route. 

FINANCING OF IMPORTS, ETC. 

Raw jute is imported at Dundee partly by merchants for sale to 
spinners or for their account and partly by the spinners direct. The 
largest jute importers are Cox Bros. (Ltd.), James Scott & Sons 
(Ltd.), J. K. Caird, J. & A. D. Grimond (Ltd.), H. Walker & Sons 



100 - LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

(Ltd.), John Sharp & Sons (Ltd.), D. Pirie & Co., J. N. Kyd & Co., 
Thomson, Shepherd & Co. (Ltd.), T. S. Ross & Co., Malcolm, 
Ogilvie & Co. (Ltd.), Buist Spinning Co. (Ltd.). This list embraces 
all those who are recorded as importing over 30,000 bales each during 
the past season, Cox Bros. (Ltd.) alone taking 126,510 bales. 

Raw jute is an extremely cheap fiber and as the yarn and goods 
made therefrom are correspondingly cheap, the spinner's or manu- 
facturer's profit depends largely upon the average level of prices at 
which he is able to obtain his supplies. Within recent years there 
has been increasing speculation in the raw jute market, and profits 
frequently depend more largely on the foresight or daring of the 
spinner in getting his jute at the right time than on his skill or low 
cost in manufacturing. 

Under certain circumstances the spinner may find it more ad- 
vantageous to buy a portion^of his jute on spot, but the bulk of it is 
bought through local brokers for shipment on draft or cash on 
arrival. With the exception of the primary transaction in India 
where the baler settles with the Bengal native growers in rupee 
money, the jute is paid for by bills of exchange, usually drawn at 
three months' sight by the shippers. Sometimes these bills are 
drawn direct upon the buyers for payment against delivery of the 
accompanying bills of lading, invoices, and marine insurance policies, 
but as a rule the bills with relative shipping documents are drawn 
upon the London office of the Scottish bank with which the spinner 
or merchant keeps his local account, the documents being deliverable 
on acceptance of the draft. These bills are converted into cash on the 
other side by being sold, at the ruling rate of exchange, to one or 
other of the Indian banks, which forward them to their offices or cor- 
respondents in London. On arrwal of each mail the drafts are pre- 
sented for acceptance to the London offices of the Scottish banks; 
the local banks are advised without delay of their arrival and receive 
instructions from their customers as to acceptance or payment. If 
the customer has unemployed capital he may secure a fair return on 
his money by electing to pay a number of the drafts under rebate. 

Except in the case of drafts for accounts of merchants doing a 
cash-on-arrival business, the London offices are instructed to accept 
the bulk of the drafts, or in other words to engage to pay them at 
maturity. The holders of the draft, on obtaining the bank's ac- 
ceptance or payment under rebate, surrender the shipping documents, 
which are then forwarded to the local Dundee banks, where they are 
held pending the arrival of the steamers. By arrangement with 
his banker the customer may get the documents so that he may oper- 
ate delivery and store the jute, or pass on the documents to his buyer 
for cash. In many cases the jute is stored in independent ware- 
houses in the name of the banks, as security to them for present or 
future advances. Transactions of the nature described run into huge 
figures in the course of a season, and by interposing their credit for 
account of their numerous customers the banks play a most important 
part in financing the stocks of jute required. In Scotland, as in Eng- 
land, banks rarely lend to manufacturers or merchants on notes; 
instead they grant a fixed overdraft credit, the amount of which de- 
pends upon the free assets of the customer as well as upon his 
character and business capacity, and they usually require that he has 
transactions with no other bank. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 



101 



Not only do the banks play an important part in the financial 
operations by which the jute supply is bought and paid for, but they 
are also a valuable medium by which payment is effected for manu- 
factured goods sold locally through merchants or brokers. The set- 
tlement, which is practically on a cash basis, takes place weekly on 
Tuesday. The principal settlement is on the first Tuesday of each 
month. 

In the case of flax, the Dundee trade is in a few strong hands and 
the drafts against shipments from Russia are drawn, as a rule, upon 
the bu}' ers direct, the connection of the banks being confined more or 
less to the retiring of the drafts when due. 

FOREIGN TRADE. 

Prior to 1861 exports of jute yarn and manufactures from the 
United Kingdom were lumped in the statistics with linen yarn and 
manufactures, while the reexports of foreign jute goods were first 
listed separately in 1897. The exports of British-made jute goods 
from the United Kingdom have been as follows: 



Years. 


Yarn. 


Piece goods. 


Other man- 
ufactures 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Yards. 


Value. 


(except 
bags). 


1861 


7,047,217 
12,669,948 
16,833,200 
34,404,400 
38, 708, 100 
46,201,900 
58,852,700 
49,326,100 
53,458,100 


$414, 266 
956,087 
1,134,985 
1,880,440 
2,367,493 
2,923,657 
3,395,557 
3,426,722 
4,183,024 


6,519,252 
51,920,808 
183,202,400 
273, 775, 900 
173, 976, 800 
170,383,800 
176,435,800 
149, 415, 700 
161,802,900 


$618, 196 
3,842,866 

10, 976, 405 

12, 778, 626 
9,126,040 
9, 624, 648 

10,036,290 
9,951,214 

11,884,304 




1870 




1880 




1890 


$201,497 


1 900 


354, 778 

456,319 

744, 112 

1,053,471 

1,137,559 


1905.. < 


1910 . . . : -.-- 


1911 


1912 





In quantity the export of jute yarn reached its maximum with 
67,518,600 pounds in 1907, while the export of jute piece goods at- 
tained its zenith with 283,618,000 yards in 1891. 



EXPORTS OF JUTE GOODS IN 1912. 



In 1912 the exports of jute yarn and of jute piece goods were taken 
by the following countries : 



Articles. 



YARN. 

Brazil 

Portugal 

Argentina 

Canada 

Belgium 

Netherlands 

Germany 

United States 

Spain 

All other countries. 

Total 

PIECE GOODS 

United States 

Canada 

Argentina 

Norway 



Quantity. 



Pounds. 
22, 640, 600 
6, 926, 100 
4, 169, 900 
3, 449, 400 
3, 098, 000 
3, 026, 600 
1, 910, 500 
1, 411, 100 
471, 200 
6, 354, 700 



53, 458, 100 



• Yards. 
77, 503, 000 
22, 930. 700 
12, 208, 300 
6,189,900 



Value. 



$1, 934, 443 
553, 438 
274, 953 
279, 454 
195, 458 
220, 141 
131, 722 
109, 209 
41, 200 
443, 006 



4, 183, 024 



5, 704, 034 

1, 600, 285 

1, 054, 259 

270,081 



Articles. 



piece goods — continued 

Australia and New Zea- 
land 

Russia 

Germany 

Sweden 

Venezuela 

Chile 

Turkey 

India 

Denmark 

Netherlands 

Uruguay 

Peru 

Ecuador 

Cuba 

All other countries 

Total 



Quantity. 



Yards. 
5, 995, 600 
3, 691, 700 
3, 412, 000 
2, 969, 200 
2, 738, 800 
2, 234, 400 
2, 046, 900 
1, 985, 900 
1, 895, 400 
1, 814, 100 
1, 690, 700 
1,382,400 
1, 280, 400 
1, 122, 800 
8, 710, 700 



161, 802, 900 



Value. 



$535, 641 

183, 652 

195, 945 

150, 132 

203, 819 

134, 330 

140,442 

207, 264 

170, 264 

159, 675 

147, 619 

83,557 

79,431 

74,506 

789, 368 



11,884,304 



102 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



PRINCIPAL MARKETS. 

Of the export in 1912 of $1,137,559 worth of unenumerated manu- 
factures of jute, the United States took $229,840, Australasia $133,104, 
and Argentina $133,960, with smaller amounts going to Cape of 
Good Hope, Denmark, India, Natal, etc. 

About half the exports of British-made jute yarns go to Brazil, 
while about half the exports of British-made jute piece goods go to 
the United States. The maximum shipment to Brazil was 35.005.300 
pounds in 1907, which year also marks the maximum reached for 
total exports of jute yarns. Brazil has long been the chief customer 
for British jute yarns, and though jute spinning in Brazil is now 
increasing, it has not yet succeeded in overtaking the increasing con- 
sumption of Brazilian looms. The imports of yarn by the United 
States fluctuate; according to the British figures they amounted to 
2,882,000 pounds in 1906, 4,082,200 in 1907, 1,068,600 in 1908, 
3,878,700 in 1909, 5,399,200 in 1910, 1,131,800 in 1911, and 1,411,100 
in 1912. Dundee supplies the great bulk of the imported jute yarns 
used in the United States. 

Dundee has always found its best customer for jute piece goods in 
the United States, though British India (which also finds its best 
market there) ships the United States five or six times as much. The 
United States took of British-made jute piece goods 86,473,000 yards 
in 1900, 121,673,700 in 1901, 97,720,700 in 1905, 83,746,300 in" 1910, 
66,893,900 in 1911, and 77,503,000 in 1912. Dundee piece goods im- 
ported by the United States average at least a fourth higher in price 
than Indian piece goods, which is due partly to the goods averaging 
finer and partly to the higher price obtained for Dundee products 
as compared with Indian goods of the same general make. 

EXPORTS OF SACKS AND BAGS. 

Statistics of the exports of empty bags and sacks from the United 
Kingdom do not specify the material, but they are now almost en- 
tirely of jute. The export of bags and sacks has been as follows: 
46,346 dozen in 1840, 206,483 dozen in 1850, 623,752 dozen in 1860, 
2,477,735 dozen in 1870, and 5,028,800 dozen in 1880, reaching a maxi- 
mum of 5,471,683 dozen, valued at $7,320,535, in 1881. In 1890 the 
export was 2,677,605 dozen ; in 1900, 2,334,400 ; in 1910, 3,698,252 ; in 
1911, 5,012,664; and in 1912, 4,091,539 dozen. The exports in 1912 
were taken by the following countries : 



Countries. 



Argentina 

Germany 

British South Africa 

United States 

Canada 

Netherlands 

Russia 

Belgium 

Denmark 



Dozens. 


Value. 


891, 074 


$1, 142, 961 


453, 539 


487, 910 


263, 302 


225, 465 


216, 648 


111,988 


208, 673 


146, 448 


201, 877 


177, 389 


181,041 


225, 626 


163, 267 


146, 852 


137, 888 


156, 215 



Countries. 



Turkey 

Chile 

Sweden 

British West Africa 

Guatemala 

Colombia 

All other countries. 

Total 



Dozens. 



122, 827 
96, 702 
95,810 
94, 660 
71,539 
66, 947 

825, 745 



4, 091, 539 



Value. 



$172, 323 
135, 639 
106, 902 
140, 540 
139, 367 
166, 717 
1, 349, 068 



5,031,314 



REEXPORT TRADE. 



The imports and reexports of foreign jute yarn and of miscellane- 
ous foreign manufactures of jute, including piece goods, bags, etc., 
according to British statistics, are shown in the table following. 



JUTE INDUSTKY Itt SCOTLAND. 



103 



Years. 


Yarn imports. 


Yarn reexports. 


All manufactures ex- 
cept yarn. 




Pounds. 


Value. 


Pounds. 


Value. 


Imports. 


Reexports. 


1900 .*.. 


6,337,659 
6, 667, 870 
3, 442, 185 
3,326,793 
4,742,342 


$431, 182 
529, 675 
263, 886 
262, 136 
394, 483 


90, 021 
154, 942 
420, 784 
376, 693 
288, 095 


$5, 874 

9,338 

20, 994 

23, 899 

18, 882 


$10, 469, 662 
10, 089, 685 
12, 559, 381 
10, 526, 269 
11,530,242 


$9, 141, 440 


1905 


8, 812, 107 


1910 


8, 524, 784 


1911 


6, 444, 419 


1912 


7, 016, 442 







The jute yarn imported is chiefly for consumption in the United 
Kingdom, while the imports of manufacture of jute of various kinds 
are mainly for reexport. Imports of jute yarn come principally from 
Belgium and France, while the reexports go mainly to Germany and 
Sweden. Most of the jute manufactures imported are supplied by 
British India, while over half of the reexports ($3_,669,234 in 1912) 
go to the United States. In the same year Cuba took $606,862 of 
these reexports, while smaller amounts went to Argentina, India, 
Germany, Peru, Netherlands, Canada, etc. This import of foreign, 
mainly Indian, jute manufactures for reexport is due partly to con- 
venience in reshipping and partly, in some cases at least, to an effort 
to obtain abroad for Indian goods the higher prices usually paid for 
the supposed better-quality Dundee goods. A considerable propor- 
tion of the jute manufactures exported from the United Kingdom, 
mainly from Dundee, is of Indian manufacture. For instance, of a 
total of $9,712,317 of jute yarn and manufactures shipped to the 
United States by the United Kingdom in the calendar year 1912, 
British-made yarn accounted for $109,209, British-made piece goods 
.for $5,704,034, and British-made unenumerated articles for $229,840, 
while $3,669,234, or over 40 per cent of the total, consisted of manu- 
factures of jute made in India or other countries. 

In the foreign trade of the United Kingdom some manufactures of 
jute are included under the heading of " cordage, cables, ropes, and 
twine of hemp, coir, and like material," but as the great bulk of such 
goods is made of regular cordage materials, such as soft hemp and 
manila hemp, the proportion of jute is negligible. 

JUTE FACTORIES. 

According to Government reports, the number of spindles and 
looms in the jute factories of the United Kingdom and the number 
and kind of factories were as follows in the years stated: 



Spinning factories 

Weaving factories 

Spinning and weaving factories 
Other factories 

Total 

Spinning spindles 

Doubling spindles 

Looms 



1870 



63 



109, 000 
6,156 
4,330 



1874 



26 
20 
63 

1 



110 



220, 911 
9,274 
9,599 



1878 



26 
39 
50 

2 



117 



212, 676 

7,492 

11,288 



1885 



30 

37 

51 

2 



120 



253, 179 
11, 024 
12, 083 



1890 



25 

37 

51 

3 



116 



268, 165 
11,874 
14, 107 



1905 



25 

44 

38 

3 



110 



263, 938 
14, 203 
13, 704 



104 



LINEN", JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



The latest year in which spindles and looms were enumerated was 
1905, and of the 278,141 spinning and doubling spindles then found 
3,700 were listed as at work in England, 3,700 in Ireland, and 270,741 
in Scotland. Similarly, of the 13,704 looms on jute in 1905, 470 were 
in England, 160 in Ireland, and 13,074 in Scotland. 



DUNDEE THE CENTER OF THE INDUSTRY. 

The jute industry of the United Kingdom is not only a monopoly 
of Scotland, but the great majority of the spindles and looms are 
within the corporate limits or suburbs of the city of Dundee. The 
manufacture of jute by machinery was inaugurated by Dundee, and 
as local conditions are favorable to its growth it has shown no tend- 
ency to spread to other parts of the United Kingdom. 

Dundee, the capital of Forfarshire, is located on the north bank of 
the Tay, on the east coast of Scotland. Commercially it ranks second 
only to Glasgow among Scottish cities, though also exceeded in popu- 
lation by Edinburgh. It is noted chiefly for its jute industry, though 
there is a smaller manufacture of flax and hemp. Other industries 
include machine making, shipbuilding, and whaling, and the latter 
iwo are declining. 

The population of Dundee, according to the census compilations, 
has been as follows : 



Years. 


Population. 


Years. 


Population. 


1811 


29, 716 
34, 575 
48, 026 
64, 629 
78, 931 
90,417 


1871 


118,977 


1821 


1881 


140, 794 


1831 


1891.. 


155, 675 


1841 


1901.. 


161,173 


1851 


1911... 


165,004 


1861 











Dundee owes most of its population to the jute industry. Between 
1861 and 1881, when the jute industry was rapidly expanding and 
before it was affected by its great Indian competitor, the population 
increased by 50,000, or at the rate of 2,500 a year. In the 40 years 
prior to 1861 it did not increase by 900 per annum, while since 1881 
the annual increase has averaged less than 700. At least a fourth of 
the entire population is engaged in the work of transforming raw 
jute into a finished product. The 1911 census showed 11,042 males 
and 23,368 females engaged in the manufacture of jute and hemp 
(the latter industry is small), in addition to those engaged in allied 
sections of the work, such as carpet and rug manufacture, dyeing, 
and finishing. 

PRINCIPAL JUTE MANUFACTURERS. 

According to the best information obtainable the following are the 
largest jute manufacturers in Dundee, those having over 5,000 
spindles or 250 looms : 



JUTE INDUSTRY IK SCOTLAND. 



105 



Firms. 



Spindles. 



Looms. 



Cox Bros. (Ltd.) 

J. & A. D. Grimond (Ltd.).... 

J. C. Duffus & Nephew 

James K. Caird. 

Gilroy, Sons & Co. (Ltd.) 

Malcolm, Ogilvie & Co. (Ltd.) . 

Buist Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

Boase Spinning Co. (Ltd.) 

Victoria Spinning Co. (Ltd.) . . 

Henry Smith & Co 

A. P. Mathewson & Co 

Thomas Bell & Sons (Ltd.) . . . 

James Smieton & Sons 

Wm. Fergusson & Sons (Ltd.). 

R. G. Kennedy & Co 

H. & A. Scott (Ltd.) 



20,000 

14, 250 

13,500 

13,300 

12,000 

11,000 

8,500 

8,000 

6,000 

5,800 

5,000 

3,000 



1,000 
720 



1,254 

800 

1,000 



600 
i45 



350 
401 
317 
300 
300 



The large firms of Baxter Bros. & Co. (Ltd.) and of Don Bros., 
Buist m & Co., usually listed as flax firms, also work on jute, as was 
noted previously. The Aberdeen Jute Co. (Ltd.), at Aberdeen, has 
2,568 spindles and 163 looms on jute, and some jute is also worked 
in small quantities at other points, mainly in connection with flax 
mills; but the total outside of Dundee is negligible. The floor- 
cloth and linoleum industry centers at Kirkcaldy, which has three 
firms; there is also one each at Dundee, Falkland, and Newburgh, 
but these buy the wide hessians used as a foundation material and 
confine their work to making floorcloth and linoleum therefrom by 
covering with mixtures of linseed oil and various ingredients. 

The 1905 figures showed for the United Kingdom 25 spinning, 44 
weaving, 38 spinning and weaving, and 3 other kinds of jute factories, 
but the factories that spin their own yarns seem to comprise the bulk 
of the spindles and looms, and many of the spinning factories and 
especially the weaving factories are small concerns. 

CAPITAL EMPLOYED COST OF CONSTRUCTION. 



In 1912 the agent of one of the largest Dundee banks stated : " It 
is difficult to form an estimate of the aggregate amount of capital 
invested in the local trade as represented by buildings, plant, ma- 
chinery, general equipment, and raw and manufactured stocks, but 
it is believed that the capital so invested will amount to fully 
£10,000,000 ($48,665,000)." 

Urquhart, Lindsay & Co. (Ltd.), who are among the largest 
makers of jute machinery, state that the cost of a complete spinning 
and weaving factory at Dundee, embracing buildings, plant, and 
equipment but excluding land, will average about £450 ($2,190) per 
loom in 1913, as against about £400 ($1,950) per loom in 1908. On 
this basis, figuring on 13,000 looms at £450, the plant investment 
would be, roughly, £5,850,000 ($28,469,000) ; and allowing for land 
and for working capital, the estimate of £10,000,000 above given may 
not be far from correct. 

The great majority of the jute firms at Dundee are private con- 
cerns, those listed as limited being almost entirely private limited, 
so that little is published as to capital stock or profits ; the preferred 
stock of Gilroy, Sons & Co. (Ltd.) is the only one regularly quoted 
on the local stock exchange. 



106 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

MILL CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT. 

The largest jute concern seems to be that of Cox Bros. (Ltd.), 
which is stated to have about 20,000 spindles and about 1,000 looms, 
and to employ some 5,000 operatives. The Dundee mills do not 
compare in size with those in India, and being older they are, as a 
rule, neither so Well arranged nor equipped so completely with the 
most improved machinery. Most of the mills, especially those built 
in comparatively recent years, are on the . one-floor, saw-tooth roof 
style, with round iron columns and concrete or stone flooring, though 
some of the largest are built with several floors. Most of the larger 
mills finish as well as spin and weave, but there are five well-equipped 
calender establishments that do nothing but finishing. Part of the 
bags are cut up and sewn in connection with the mills, part in sepa- 
rate establishments, while both give out some bags to be sewn at 
home. There are also separate dyeing, bleaching, and printing con- 
cerns, which work on both flax and jute goods. 

The older mills are driven by geared shafting, the belt shafts 
being driven by large bevel gears working with those on the main 
shaft, but most of the mills are abandoning this system and use rope 
driving or else have adopted electric power. The electric motors 
are usually arranged for group driving, a motor for each separate 
line of shafting, but one or two firms have installed a small number 
of motors for individual driving. Electric power is supplied by the 
city, which installed a plant in 1893 and in 1900 took over the horse 
and steam tramways. In electrifying the latter it arranged for 
larger plants so as to have a surplus of power for sale to the public. 
The price for electric power, which at first was a flat rate of 2d. (4 
cents) per unit of 1,000 watt hours, has been changed to a sliding 
scale, and mills are now charged 1J d. (3 cents) per unit for quanti- 
ties under 10,000 units and fd. (1J cents) per unit for quantities over 
this amount in case a minimum is guaranteed. The use of electric 
power is increasing and some of the largest mills are now changing 
to this system, not only because of the greater convenience and steadi- 
ness of this drive but also because at Dundee most of the coal has 
to be hauled some distance and costs more than at almost any other 
large city in the United Kingdom. 

COST OF MANUFACTURE. 

Wages in the jute industry are comparatively low, but there have 
been several increases in. the last few years. Manufacturers state 
that the higher wage scale, with the increase in general cost of pro- 
duction due to dearer supplies, etc., makes it increasingly difficult 
to compete with Calcutta, where labor is much cheaper and where, 
in spite of the Indian decrease last year from 15 to 13J hours per day, 
the working hours are still much longer than those allowed in Dundee. 
They also object to the burden imposed by the national compulsory 
insurance act, and the president of the Dundee Chamber of Commerce 
at the closing meeting for 1912 stated that this item alone would cost 
the local factories £45,000 to £50,000 ($219,000 to $243,000), almost 
half of which would be contributed by the employers and the balance 
by the operatives. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 10'7 

PROCESSES OF MANUFACTURE. 

The staple article of manufacture in jute mills is hessian (burlap), 
and the ordinary machines used are as follows : 

Batching room. — Jute opener; softener. 

Preparing room. — Breaker card ; finisher card ; first drawing frame ; 
second drawing frame; roving frame. 

Spinning room. — Spinning frame. 

Yarn preparation. — Cop-winder machine (for weft) ; drum- winder 
machine (for warp) ; dressing machine; drawing-in (hand work). 

Weave room. — Loom. 

Finishing room. — Cropping machine ; damping machine ; calender- 
ing or mangling machine; inspecting and folding machine; baling 
press. 

If any yarn is to be put up for sale, there is also a reel room, where 
the yarn is reeled into 90-inch hanks and then bundled for sale. 
However, in contrast to the system used in English cotton and worsted 
mills and in Irish flax mills, the great majority of the Dundee jute 
mills (by amount of machinery if not by number of mills) are self- 
contained, and carry out all processes from handling the raw jute 
to shipping the finished cloth. 

BATCHING ROOM. 

Jute is received at the mill in bales of a uniform weight of 400 
pounds, the bales being bound with roughly twisted jute ropes and 
having no covering. The bales are packed under an hydraulic pres- 
sure of about 4 tons to the square inch to make each measure uni- 
formly 10 cubic feet, and as this pressure mats the stricks together, 
it is necessary to run the jute through a bale breaker to disentangle 
the stricks before they can be handled for working. This bale breaker, 
usually called a jute opener, consists of three or more heavy rollers 
with blunt teeth working into the grooves of each other, and its 
action softens as well as opens up the jute layers. Usually six bales 
of jute are grouped around the jute opener, the jute ropes are then 
cut with an axe and alternate layers from the various bales are laid 
on the feed plate and run through the machine. 

The batchers take the opened-out material as delivered and piece 
out the long fiber in handfuls weighing about 2 pounds each, which 
they lay on a low platform ready for the softener. They also roughly 
sort it by laying aside any stricks that appear too dark, rotty, or in- 
ferior in any way to the general run of the batch being worked. 
This inferior material is later run through in a batch by itself. 

The handfuls of fiber prepared by the batchers are next run 
through the jute opener, which is a long, narrow machine consisting 
of many pairs of straight and spiral rollers. In its passage through 
the machine it is not only subjected to the softening action of the 
rollers, but first water and then oil are automatically fed on it to make 
it softer and more pliable. The water and oil are usually kept warm. 
The amount of water used varies in different mills, being determined 
by the ideas of the management, the different kinds of goods to be 
made, and also the temperature and state of the atmosphere. Fre- 
quently it is 15 to 20 per cent, but most of it dries out in the subse- 
quent preparing and spinning processes. The oil is usually mineral 



108 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

oil, sometimes mixed with whale or seal oil; the animal oils alone 
are too expensive for any but the finer grades of material. The 
amount of oil varies from 1 to 2 gallons per 400-pound bale of jute, 
but the amount and proportions of both oil and water are varied 
according to circumstances and the individual ideas of the managers. 

The stricks of softened jute are stacked up on a barrow or wagon 
and allowed to stand some 24 hours, so that the oil may become 
uniformly distributed throughout the mass before working. 

Formerly the material was run through the softener rollers dry 
and was then stacked, watered, and oiled with a can in successive 
layers in a large barrow, and left 24 to 48 hours before use; but 
machine batching has now almost entirely superseded hand batching, 
though the latter is still used in a few mills on finer work. 

PREPARING ROOM. 

So far the jute has been handled in the long pieces, or stricks, in 
which it was shipped. It is impossible, of course, to run fibers 5 
feet or more in length into weaving yarns, so on entering the first 
card the material is cut, or broken, into lengths more convenient for 
working, usually about 10 inches, and for this reason the first card 
is called the breaker. 

At the back of the breaker is a sloping feed sheet. The operative 
weighs a fixed amount of material, which is called a dollop, and 
spreads the long stricks on the feed sheet so that the dollop will be 
drawn into the card in a single round of the clock attached to the 
feed roller above. Uniform feeding is necessary in order that the 
resultant sliver from which is made the roving and yarn may have 
a uniform weight per yard. The weight of the dollop of long slivers 
laid by hand on the feed sheet during each revolution of the clock 
is calculated so that, with certain doublings and drafts on the suc- 
cessive machines, each spyndle of 14,400 yards of yarn produced on 
the spinning may have the desired weight. 

The cylinder of a jute card, whether breaker or finisher, is usually 
made 6 feet wide and 4 feet in diameter, and though there is no 
uniform speed, it is customary to run the breaker at about 190 and the 
finisher at about 180 revolutions per minute. 

BREAKER CARDS. 

Breaker cards usually have two workers and two strippers, the first 
with effective diameters of 8-J inches and the latter of 10J inches, 
with tin cylinders underneath. There is one feed roller and shell, 
a 15-inch doffer, and calendar rolls. The long fiber, as it is drawn 
in between the feed roller and the shell, is broken up over the edge 
of the latter by the downward blows of the cylinder pins, and the 
cylinder draws the resultant short tow lengths around with it under- 
neath, where it is combed, cleaned, and paralleled by the combined 
action of the teeth of the card and the two workers, the latter being 
kept clean by the strippers. The fleece is taken off the card in front 
by the doffer, which in turn is stripped by the action of a pair of 
metal rollers extending across its face; the resultant web is drawn 
down an inclined condensing conductor to the calendar rollers, which 
compress it into a sliver that drops of its own weight into a station- 
ary can in front, and these cans are taken to the finisher card. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 109 

FINISHER CARDS. 

Some finisher cards are made up-striking and some are half-circu- 
lar, so that the sliver is taken in at the back and delivered at the 
front; but the most usual type of finisher card is the full-circular 
down-striking. In the full-circular finisher card the cans of sliver, 
usually 8 or 10 in number, are fed in underneath the delivery plate 
at the front and the material is drawn around the card, being 
combed, cleaned, and paralleled as before by the action of the teeth 
of the card and workers. The doffers, of which there may be one 
or two, are stripped by vibrating knives and the fleece is usually 
drawn off in three sections through trumpet-mouthed conductors. 
These three slivers are drawn around large guide pins, and, if two 
doffers are used, unite with three similar slivers produced by the 
lower doffer. Most breaker cards have only two pairs of workers and 
strippers, but full-circular finisher cards usually have four or five 
pairs. 

The draft on jute cards is short, seldom exceeding 20 and not often 
below 12, an average for finisher cards being about 15. The usual 
production of a breaker card is about 7,000 pounds per day of 10 
hours, and two finishers are fed by each breaker. The production 
depends, of course, on the speed considered best for the work in hand 
and on the weight per yard of the sliver desired. 

DRAWING FRAMES. 

In the ordinary hessian system there is a first drawing, doubling 
foiir into one, and a second drawing, doubling two into one. With 
the usual weights and drafts, 3J draft for the first drawing and 
8 draft for the second drawing, one finisher card will supply a two- 
headed first drawing. This supplies a two-headed second drawing, 
which in turn delivers sufficient material to keep in operation a 56- 
spindle roving frame with 10 by 5 inch bobbins. Usually the break- 
ers, the finishers, the first drawing frames, and the second drawing 
frames are arranged in parallel lines and the roving frames are 
placed at right angles to same. Jute sliver cans are always stationary, 
not revolving as in the cotton trade, and they are usually oval in shape, 
though some are oblong and some rectangular. Ordinary dimen- 
sions are 13 by 11 inches for breaker cans, 12 by 9 inches for finisher 
cans, 12 by 9 inches for first-drawing cans, and 10 by 7 inches for 
second-drawing cans; they are usually 36 inches in height. 

The cans from the finisher card are put up at the back of the first 
drawing and each end, or two ends working as one, are drawn in 
separately through the feed rollers. The rows of steel -pins carried 
by successive short gill bars strike up into the sliver and carry it 
forward to the drawing rollers. The sliver is combed and drawn out 
in the process by reason of the gill bars having a speed slightly 
greater than the surface speed of the feed rollers and the drawing 
rollers having a surface speed considerably greater than that of the 
gill bars, so that, as the fibers are drawn past each other while sup- 
ported by the gill pins, the sliver is cleaned and paralleled as well 
as attenuated. The gilling arrangement in the preparatory processes 
of jute spinning is similar to that used for other long fibers, such 
as flax and wool, but with reach, speeds, size, and spacing of pins 



110 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

suitable for the coarser grade of material worked. From the draw- 
ing rollers one end goes straight and the other three are turned at 
right angles through slits in the front plate, so that the four ends 
may be doubled into one and fall into the stationary can beneath. 

The cans from the first drawing are put up at the back of the sec- 
ond, or finisher, drawing, each end passing separately through feed 
rollers, gills, and drawing rollers. Each two ends are then doubled 
into one at the front to fall into the can beneath, these cans then 
going to the roving frame. In both first and second drawing there 
are usually two heads, or deliveries, per frame. 

The drawing frames are designated according to the system used 
for driving the gill bars (which carry the^ slivers from the feed to 
the drawing rollers) and then bringing the bars back underneath to 
strike up again into the slivers and repeat the operation. With the 
better grades of flax there is ordinarily used the screw gill arrange- 
ment (described in the chapter on Irish flax), as this makes the most 
perfect work. However, such perfection is not necessary for jute and 
the speed permissible is too low to make it economical. Sometimes 
there is used a circular, chain, or other system of driving, but as a 
rule the first drawing at Dundee is on the push-bar type, which has 
been very successful and which permits high speed, 350 drops of the 
gill bar per minute being most customary. The gill bars rise up 
straight at the back and are actuated by four pinions, one on each 
side above and below. 

The term " push," or " slide," drawing is derived from the fact 
that the bars directly in the teeth of the pinions push forward those 
that are disengaged until the latter are again brought into contact 
with the pinions. The second, or finisher, drawing is usually a 
spiral drawing, so called from the gill bars being actuated by screws. 
This type can not be driven so fast as the push-bar type, which for 
some work is also used for second drawing. There are usually only 
about 160 drops of the gill bars per minute in spiral drawing, but 
it makes better work. 

ROVING FRAME. 

The drafting arrangement of the roving frame is practically the 
same as in the drawing frames, and the gill bars are usually actuated 
by screws on the spiral system. There is no doubling ; the cans from 
the finisher drawing are put up at the back of the roving frame and 
each sliver is run through separately, going through feed rollers, gills, 
and drawing rollers, and then being wound on large doubled-headed 
bobbins by means of a flyer; a slight twist is inserted in the opera- 
tion. In jute as in flax roving frames, the flyer has a constant speed 
and leads the bobbin ; as the diameter of the bobbin increases, its speed 
must increase correspondingly, and this is accomplished by the use of 
various differential driving systems. Speeds of roving frames are 
now considerably higher than formerly, a fair average for frames 
with 10 by 5 inch bobbins being about 1375 revolutions of the spindle 
per minute, while the tendency is toward still higher speeds. The 
draft on roving frames varies between 6 and 10, a draft of 8 to 9 
being most general. 

SPINNING ROOM. 

The double-headed bobbins of rove are carted to the spinning room 
and stuck on the almost horizontal pins in the creel of the spinning 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. Ill 

frame. Each end of roving is drawn down between a pair of feed, 
or retaining, rollers and thence over a rove plate or breast beam 
and through a tin roving conductor to a pair of drawing rollers, 
which are below and slightly forward of the feed rollers; thence it 
passes through the thread plate eye and is wound on to small double- 
headed bobbins by means of a flyer, a calculated amount of twist 
being inserted in the operation. The rove is drafted and attenuated 
between the retaining and the drafting rollers; the front roller in 
both cases is of steel and the back roller is pressed against it by 
means of a lever and weight. The retaining roller is usually 2-J 
inches and the drawing roller 4 inches in diameter. The top pressing 
roller is of steel and fluted to correspond with the retaining roller, 
while the bottom pressing roller is of wood, usually sycamore, and 
turned to a narrow face, which is embraced by the wings of the tin 
conductor that hangs loose upon a bar. 

The reach, or distance from center to center, of the retaining and 
drawing rollers is usually about 10 inches. The spindles are usually 
driven by tapes If to 2^ inches in width. The speed of the spindles 
varies from about 2,500 revolutions per minute for 18 to 24 pound 
weft made on a frame with 5-inch gauge (distance between spindles) 
up to about 3,300 revolutions per minute for 8-pound warp made on 
a frame with 3f-inch gauge. With improvements in the manufac- 
ture of spinning frames the speeds have shown a tendency to increase. 
The distance between spindles, called gauge or pitch, is usually 3^ to 
of inches for 5 to 7 pound yarn, 4 inches for 8 to 12 pound yarn, 4J 
to 4J inches for 12 to 20 pound yarn, and 5 inches for 20 to 40 pound 
yarn. 

In the spinning of hessian warps and wefts three sizes of bobbins 
are customary — the 3J-inch bobbin (this refers to the traverse, or 
height, between heads) for 7 to 8 pound warp, the 4-inch for 9 to 
16 pound yarn, and the 5-inch for 16 to 24 pound yarn. The over-all 
length of the spinning frames is usually about 27 feet, giving from 
114 to 154 bobbins for the double frame. 

Frames with 60 or 72 spindles to the side seem to be most com- 
mon, and ordinarily one spinner runs two sides, some running only 
one side. Usual spinning drafts are 7 or 8. A fair average produc- 
tion is given as 4 spyndles (of 14,400 yards each) per spindle per 
55-hour week on 7-pound hessian warp. The amount of twist or 
turns per inch given varies according to the quality of the jute and 
the purpose for which the yarns are made, as well as according to the 
yarn count. Warps to be used double are twisted a little less than 
those to be used single; spinners' twist yarns going direct to their 
own looms are twisted a little less than yarns intended for sale, etc. 
The standard 3 -pound warp usually has 8 to 8^ turns twist per inch 
and 3-pound weft 5J to 6J turns twist per inch. The twist required 
for any other number is frequently based on these and is obtained 
by multiplying the turns twist for 3-pound yarn by the square root 
of 3 and dividing by the square root of the number to be twisted. 

The bobbins have a groove in the base, and a drag cord, which is 
fastened to the ring rail at the back and hangs down in front with 
a small weight attached, is laid in a notch in the front part of the 
rail. This cord is moved up as the bobbin fills, so as to put more 
friction or drag on the base until the frame is full, when the drag 
cords are all started back at the first notch, where the cords just 



112 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

touch the bobbin. Jute machinery has never attained the automatic 
perfection of cotton-mill machinery, and in this, as in other jute ma- 
chines, there is clearly much room for improvement by the use of 
labor-saving appliances. There is now on the market an automatic 
drag-cord shifting arrangement, by means of which a notched rail 
in front carrying the drag bands is automatically moved up and in- 
creases the tension on all bobbins uniformly as they fill up, but 
manufacturers have not yet adopted it to any extent, and the spinner 
still shifts the drag cords one by one. Recently there has been 
brought out an electrie stop motion, called Sharp's patent rove stop, 
which prevents waste by automatically shifting the roving out of 
the retaining pair of rollers when an end breaks, but as 10s. 9d. ($2.62) 
per spindle is charged for its attachment, it is too costly for general 
use. Patent ball-bearing spindles, patent tension cylinder drive, etc., 
are other improvements now being tried tentatively. Some jute 
spinning frames have also been installed on the ring-spinning system, 
but the flyer- spinning system is in general use. (Fig.8.) 

YARN NUMBERING SYSTEM. 

The number, or count, of jute yarn is stated in terms of the weight 
in pounds of an arbitrary length of 14,400 yards, which is called 
a spyndle, or sometimes a spangle. Three-pound yarn therefore 
means that a spyndle of 14,400 yards weighs 3 pounds; 8-pound 
yarn means that a spyndle of 14,400 yards weighs 8 pounds, etc. 
The higher the yarn number, therefore, the coarser the yarn, which 
is the reverse of yarn numbering systems like those for cotton, fine 
iinen (lea system) , worsted, etc., which are based on the pound instead 
of an arbitrary length. In the full yarn numbering table, 90 inches, 
the circumference of the reel, makes a thread; 120 threads, or 300 
yards, make a cut, or lea ; 2 cuts, or 600 yards, make a heer ; 6 heers, 
or 3,600 yards, make a hank; and 4 hanks, or 14,400 yards, make a 
spyndle. 

Jute yarns and dry-spun flax yarns are numbered on the same sys- 
tem, so the table of equivalent yarn counts given on page 87 applies 
to jute yarns. 

YARN PREPARATION. 

Most of the Dundee looms are supplied with yarns spun in the 
same establishment, but although all the work may be carried on 
under the same roof the operations up to and including the finished 
yarn are considered to belong to the mill, while subsequent operations 
are carried on in what is referred to as the factory. 

WINDING FRAMES. 

In the factory the first machines are the winding frames. Weft 
yarns are wound into cops on the bare spindles of weft- winding ma- 
chines of various types. Where yarns are bought from outside or 
have been bleached or dyed they wind from the hank, but most of 
them are made for winding from the spinning bobbin. The great 
bulk of the jute weft yarn is now wound into cops instead of onto 
pirns, and as there is less drag in the shuttle as the yarn pulls 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 



113 



otit from the inside of the cop instead of over the nose of the pirn, 
jute selvages are now not uncommon for sacking and bagging. 
Formerly all jute goods had to be woven with cotton selvages, as is 
still the case with hessians and other medium-fine goods. Owing to 
the hard and slippery nature of the material, jute cops have to be 



. i 



- , ' r 



/%#. 



■'maota 



\ J I. ;wm»> 



% ' f 






IMint-mmam 










^ - ■■■J* m.-,$ .- .• I 



c 

S3 

► 

C 



M 



built up under considerably more tension than is necessary for cotton 
cops. The size of the cop varies according to the size of the shuttle 
suitable for the kind of yarn being spun, but ordinary jute cops are 
8 to 10 inches long and 1J to If inches in diameter. 

Jute warps are usually wound from the spinning-frame bobbins 
into cheeses, or rolls, there usually being a double line of drums to 

13002°— No. 74—13 8 



114 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

each machine. These cheeses are taken direct to the slashing room 
and placed in the creels of the slashing machine, which is usually 
called a dressing machine. A cheese of 8-pound yarn may hold 14,400 
yards, and will therefore weigh 8 pounds. 

DRESSING AND DRAWING IN. 

Dressing machines for jute are made double, that is, there is at each 
end of the machine a V-shaped creel carrying half the number of 
ends desired in the warp. These machines are of various types and 
may have 4, 6, or 8 cylinders, but the 6-cylinder type is most common. 
The sheet of ends as drawn from the creel at one end of the machine 
passes through a coarse reed, then through a size box and around 
three large drying cylinders full of steam. It is then wound up 
evenly, together with a similar sheet of ends from the other side, on 
a weavers' beam placed in the center. In the jute trade, loading 




Fig. 9. — Shuttle used in jute weaving and weaver's reed hook, etc. 

agents are seldom employed, and the weight added to the warp varies 
from 5 to not over 25 per cent. Various materials and proportions 
are used in sizing, but the mixtures are generally restricted to com- 
mon adhesive substances such as farina and wheaten flour, with the 
addition of some softening material, such as tallow or oil, and zinc 
chloride as an antiseptic. 

The loom beams from the dressing machine, after the ends are 
drawn in by hand through reed and hedclles, are taken to the looms. 
Neither knot-tyers nor automatic drawing-in machines have yet been 
found that can be adapted to such brittle and inelastic materials as 

jute and flax. 

WEAVING ROOM. 

Most jute cloths are woven either plain or with simple twills. 
Weavers usually operate two looms only, a few running three, while 
on wide goods there is a weaver ft) each loom. The cone overpick is 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 



115 



most widely emplo} T ed for jute; a few underpick looms are seen but 
no automatic looms. As the inelastic nature of the jute fiber does 
not give the warp threads the same tendency/ to shrink, when re- 
lieved from the distending power of the reed, as do elastic fibers like 
cotton and wool, and as the fabrics generally woven are comparatively 
coarse, temples are unnecessary and their use is practically unknown 
in jute weaving. Owing to the comparatively low speeds at which 
jute looms are driven, shuttle guards also are usually considered un- 
necessary. Jute shuttles for ordinary hessian cloths are usually about 
20 inches long by about 2 inches square ; generally they weigh about 
2 pounds, but vary from 12 ounces up to 3 pounds. Shuttles used in 
the cotton trade have a cone-tipped end that fits into a depression 
made in the leather picker, but jute shuttles are usually made with 




Pig. 10. — Jute weave shed. 

a flat or side tip. The pointed tip occupying about a third of the 
width at the end is only for guidance, while most of the end is flat 
and this part is struck by the picker. (Fig. 9.) Among advantages 
claimed for this system is that it makes for less rapid wear on the 
picker employed. Some jute cloths, such as those for paddings, bags, 
and other goods to be cut up for special purposes, are made" in nar- 
row widths and are woven two or more at a time in the same looms 
by using some form of center-selvage attachment. The widest loom 
used in the jute trade is the 8 yard. Extremely few are so wide as 
this, though there are several that weave goods 4 yards wide to be 
used as the foundation of wide linoleums. The standard loom for 
weaving 40-inch hessians is made with a 46^-inch reed space 
(Fig. 10.) 



116 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



The ordinary speeds at which hessian looms are operated at Dun- 
dee is given by Urquhart, Lindsay & Co. (Ltd.), as follows: 



Reed 


Picks 


space. 


per 
minute. 


Inches. 




32i 


160 


37 


155 


46J 


150 


52 


145 


56 


140 


68 


125 


80 


110 


90 


100 


110 


85 



At one of the largest jute mills at Dundee I found a loom with 
160-inch reed space, making 144-inch cloth and operated at 80 picks 
per minute; but the majority of the looms in this mill on 40-inch 
hessian were making only 135 to 140 picks per minute. 

FINISHING ROOM. 

After weaving the cloth is run through a cropping machine to clip 
off all thread ends, and then through a damping machine to moisten 
it slightly for the subsequent process. It is then taken to the calender- 
ing machine, where it is run through heavy rollers. The moistened 
threads are mashed down flat, and this fills up the cloth and gives it a 
smooth appearance. If a more finished glazed appearance is desired, 
it is run through a mangling machine. These machines are so heavy 
that many have a separate engine or motor for driving. The cloth 
is wound on a steel roller, which is swung in between two large 
rollers that are revolved alternately backward and forward. The 
friction set iip by the heavy pressure employed heats the cloth and 
flattens the threads so that a glazed, finish is given to both sides of 
the cloth from the outer to the innermost layer. Three swinging 
rollers are used to keep the machine in continuous operation, one 
roll being wound on and another off while the third is being op- 
erated on. These machines are made wide enough to take one. two, 
or more pieces side by side, and usually 10 minutes is allowed for 
finishing a roll 100 to 112 yards long. The product is known as 
mangled hessians. 

After calendering or mangling the finished cloth is measured, 
folded, and baled for shipment. 

JUTE-MACHINERY MAKERS. 

The preparing and spinning machinery required in jute mills of 
the United Kingdom is made principally at Leeds, smaller quantities 
being manufactured in Monifieth and Belfast. Nearly all weaving 
and finishing machinery, as well as machinery for opening and soften- 
ing jute, is made in Dundee. 

The largest machine makers at Dundee are Urquhart, Lindsay & 
Co. (Ltd.) , who started business in 1863 and became a limited-liability 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 117 

company in 1897. They make a specialty of jute-finishing machinery, 
such as calenders and mangles, and are also large producers of wind- 
ing and weaving machinery and of jute openers and softeners. Their 
machinery is found all over the world and is largely used in India. 
In addition to jute machinery they make triple-expansion engines, 
large rope pulleys, cut gears, etc. In normal times they employ 700 
to 800 workers. 

James F. Low & Co. (Ltd.), located at Monifieth, near Dundee, 
started in 1811, though not floated into a private-limited company un- 
til 1902. They manufacture preparing and spinning machinery and 
when running full employ about 500 workers. They hold the British 
rights of manufacture of the Prause patent mechanical -doffing spin- 
ning frame, but on application refused to give out either prices or 
catalogue cuts of their machinery. 

Robertson & Orchar (Ltd.), of Dundee, make looms, softeners, 
winders, and finishing machinery. They make a specialty of sewing 
machines for the jute trade and also manufacture machinery re- 
quired in the linoleum trade. 

Charles Parker, Sons & Co., of Dundee, make preparing, weaving, 
and finishing machinery. The Victoria loom made by them for the 
weaving of heavy navy canvas is claimed to be the only loom on this 
market capable of making mathematically correct cloth. 

D. J. Macdonald, of Dundee, makes bag-making machines, yarn 
testers, waterproofing and other machinery for the treatment of cloth. 

The largest concerns making jute-preparing, jute-roving, and jute- 
spinning machinery are Fairbairn, Macpherson & Co. and Lawson & 
Co.. both of which are located at Leeds and now form branches of the 
one firm of Fairbairn, Lawson, Combe, Barbour (Ltd.). The Combe- 
Barbour branch of this firm is located at Belfast and manufactures 
machinery for jute as well as for flax and hard fibers. The Shet- 
tleston Iron Works at Glasgow also make preparing and spinning 
machinery for jute mills. 

The period of prosperity for the jute trade that started about the 
middle of 1911 and is still in full swing has been reflected in a corre- 
sponding boom in jute machinery. Machine makers had a busy time 
in 1912, as orders for all classes of machinery were plentiful. Very 
large orders have been and are being placed for new mills and exten- 
sions in Calcutta, as well as for extensions and replacements in Dun- 
dee and district, while the Continent has continued to increase its 
number of wide looms. The makers of both flax and jute machinery 
have seldom been busier, and they have a full year's work ahead of 
them. New Indian mills can not now get machinery guaranteed 
before 1914. 

DUNDEE PUBLIC CALENDERS. 

The larger of the Dundee jute mills finish goods in their own facto- 
ries, but there are also five public calenders that calender, mangle, 
stiffen, and otherwise finish goods woven in the local mills, as well as 
dyeing, cutting up and making into bags, stamping, baling, and ship- 
ping if desired. 



118 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

These calenders from time to time issue minimum price lists giving 
the uniform rates charged for various work on the woven cloth. The 
uniform lists, effective April 1, 1913, are as follows . 

TARIFF OF MINIMUM CHARGES OF THE DUNDEE PUBLIC CALEN- 
DERS, VIZ, TRADES LANE CALENDER, DUNDEE CALENDER, LADY- 
WELL CALENDER, COWGATE CALENDER, FORBES & CHRISTIE, 
APRIL 1, 1913. 

Cropping. 

Cloth 20 inches wide and under, A<1. per running yard ; above 20 inches wide, 
aVd per square yard. Goods above 14 ounces and not above 16 ounces per 
square yard, Ad. per square yard. All hemp goods and all goods above 16 
ounces per square yard, Ad. per square yard. 

Finishing, etc. 

Calendering, or chesting, including measuring and making up, goods under 
18 inches, Ad. per running yard; from 18 to 24 inches, id. per square yard; 
from 24 to 40 inches, Ad. per running yard ; above 40 inches, in proportion to 
40-inch rate. 

Hessians, if split, id. per square yard for calendering, splitting, and extra 
making up. Paddings, if split, xVd. per split yard for calendering, splitting, 
and making up. 

Goods over 84 inches and up to 100 inches wide, calendered and made up. id. 
per square yard; over 100 inches wide, by arrangement. Goods over 45 inches 
and up to 84 inches wide, over 20 ounces per square yard, calendered and made 
up, id. per square yard; over 84 inches wide, by arrangement. Double finish, 
rate and third. 

Goods rolled on boxes, Ad. per square yard additional, which will include 
the charge for stitching; boxes to be supplied by customers. Goods 52 inches 
wide, or over, rolled full width, Ad. per square yard extra. 

American burlaps up to 40 inches wide, uncrisped, whether pieces or cuts, Ad. 
per yard, less 121 per cent discount for chesting, making up, and ordinary 
packing with 2 hoops and sheet; up to 49 inches, in proportion. Burlaps. 40 
inches wide weighing over 12 ounces, not subject to discount. If bales weigh 
over 16 hundredweight, an extra hoop may be put on free. If double finished, 
rate and quarter. These special rates to apply only where bales contain 2.000 
yards or over. 

Calendering only, 40 inches and under, Ad. per running yard; above 40 
inches, in proportion to 40-inch rate. When measured, id. per cut. Splitting 
goods, Id. per split cut, and when measured, id. per split cut. 

Calendering, measuring, cutting up, and bundling for bags, Ad. per yard up 
to 40 inches wide ;• above 40 inches, in proportion. 

Cutting up and bundling for bags, Ad. per yard up to 36 inches; above 36 
inches, Ad. per square yard. If tied, Id. per bundle of 50 bits, or lid. per 
bundle of 100; the charge for tying applies to goods forwarded loose or goods 
packed. Uncrisping goods, 2d. per cut. 

Calendering only, goods over 84 and up to 100 inches wide, Ad. per square 
yard ; over 100 inches wide, by arrangement. Calendering only, goods over 45 
and up to 84 inches wide, over 20 ounces per square yard. Ad. per square yard; 
over 84 inches wide, by arrangement. Double finish, rate and third. 

Real Selvage Jute Hessian in Narrow Strips. 

Chesting, up to 40 inches, A^. P er yard ; over 40 inches, in proportion. Meas- 
uring, id. per full-width cut. These charges are omitted when goods are received 
finished. 

Splitting, Id. per cut. Rolling, up to and including 7 yards per end, Ad. 
per split yard; over 7 and up to 15 yards. Ad.; over 15 and up to 30 yards, 
s^d. ; over 30 yards, Ad. Twine, id. per end. Heavy goods by special ar- 
rangement. If P. S., rate and third. 

Dice damasks, etc., calendering and making up, Ad. ; over 36 inches, tird. 
Iter square yard. Cloths, damasks, etc., calendering and making up, id. ; over 
per square yard. Towels, calendering, cutting up, and counting, 



JUTE INDUSTRY IX SCOTLAND. 



119 



id. per yard; if rough, cutting and counting, id. per yard; folding, pressing, 
and tying, including twine or tape, 2d. per dozen, whatever the size of the 
bundle; if rebundled, to be charged twice. Double finish, rate and third. 
Extra finishes to be charged extra rates. 

Glazing, goods under 20 inches, rd. per running yard; from 20 to 30 inches, 
id. per running yard ; from 30 to 40 inches, id. per running yard ; above 40 
inches, in proportion to 40-inch rate. 

Single mangling, making up, and ordinary packing in twilled sheet and 2 
hoops, American burlaps up to 40 inches wide. id. per yard net, and up to 49 
inches in proportion. Bales to contain not less than 2,000 yards. If bales 
weigh over 16 hundredweight an extra hoop may be put on free. If double 
mangled, 33d. 

Mangling, including making up: Jute goods, single mangling, rd. per running 
yard up to 30 inches wide; above 30 inches wide, rd. per square yard. Jute 
goods, double mangling, id. per running yard up to 36 inches wide; above 36 
inches wide, id. per square yard. Patent selvage jute hessians, single man- 
gling, splitting, and making up, id. per square yard; double mangling, splitting, 
and makiug up, id. per square yard. Hessians or other jute goods over 16 
porter to be charged as linens. Other goods under 18 inches wide, rd. per 
running yard ; 18 to 24 inches, rud. per square yard ; 24 and under 26 inches, 
id. per running yard ; 26 to 36 inches, id. per running yard ; above 36 inches, 
id. per square yard. On goods received calendered, no allowance can be made. 

Goods sent out unmade-up, one-sixth less. Goods returned in mill fold. Id. 
per piece or cut. If crisped, lid. per cut ; if measured, id. per cut. 

Dices, damasks, etc.. mangled and made up, id. per running yard up to 36 
inches; above 36 inches, id. per square yard. 

All union dices, damasks, etc., and all linen dices, etc., under 22 porter, srid. 
per square yard extra to above rates. 

Cloths, mangled and made up, &d. ; if over 36 inches, i^d. per square yard. 

Stitching, Tying. Etc. 



Rolled goods: 

Up to 55 yards 

From 55 to 105 yards . . 

From 105 to 210 yards . 

Over 210 yards 

Lapped goods: 

Under 55 yards 

From 55 to 150 yards . . 

From 150 to 210 yards . 

Over 210 yards 



Full width. 


Crisped. 


Stitching. 


Tying. 


Stitching. 


Tying. 


Pence. 


Pence. 


Pence. 


Pence. 


i 

2 

1 
2 
3 

4 

0) 


3 
4 

H 

if 

0) 


3 
4 
3_ 
4 
1 

0) 


1 

X 2 

2 

0) 


X 
2 
3 

4 

H 


l 
if 


1 

li 

2 


1} 

3 


( ] ) 


0) 


0) 


0) 



1 Extra in proportion. 

All goods 52 inches and up to 60 inches wide to be charged rate and quarter; 
above 60 inches, rate and half. Goods made up book fold or if with cross 
twine, rate and half. Creas, etc., under 65 yards, stitched with twine and silk, 
4d. per cut ; over 65 yards, 6d. Twice-crisped goods to be charged double for 
twine. Jute bagging, etc., twice crisped to be charged net, both for finishing 
and twine. Pressing, id. per cut. Two fancv slips, id. extra per cut; if over 
30 yards, id. 



PAPERING AND OUTSIDE TYING, STAMPING, ETC. 

Cloth. 36 inches wide and under, lid. per piece up to 50 yards ; 2id. per piece 
up to 80 yards; above 80 yards, 3d. per piece. Cloth over 36 inches wide, one- 
half more. When ends are not covered, or when crisped, a third less. Inside 
lining to be charged extra. 

Tying and papering dices and damasks, 50 yards and under, single paper, 
3id. ; over 50 yards. 4id. Double paper, 4id. and 5id.. respectively. 

Crisping, folding, pressing, papering, and tying cloths, half-dozen packages, 
3id. ; dozen packages. 5d. 



120 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

Ticketing or stamping length or number on goods received for packing or 
forwarding only, |d. per cut or piece, net ; other ticketing or stamping Id. per 
cut up to 72 pounds weight and fd. per piece or cut over 72 pounds, net. 
Stamping goods finished in calender if in more than one color. Id. for each 
color (but where width, length, or number only is in a different color, no charge 
to be made) ; if received finished. Jd. for first color and Id. for each color addi- 
tional, whether block stamping or otherwise. 

Papering and tying twine, 2d. per 12-pound bundle; yarn, 2|d. per short 
bundle, net. • 

Ticketing only, yarn or sacks. Id. per 10 bundles. Tickets, if furnished or 
written, 2d. per 10 bundles, net. 

Rough Goods and Goods Received Finished. 

Making up, exclusive of twine. 36 inches wide and under, ^sd. ; over 36 inches, 
irid. per square yard ; if crisped, ^d. in each case. 

Measuring only, or testing lengths, cut or half piece, Id. ; whole piece, lid. 
Turning and tying, or taking out samples, 2d. per cut or 3d. per piece ; but two 
pieces of each parcel for inspection may be done free. If split. 2d. per split cut 
additional. 

Goods, 52 inches wide, or over, rolled full width, ^d. per square yard extra. 

Weighing — Net. 

Weighing or testing weights, separate bundles or pieces. Jd. per bundle or 
piece ; if over 56 pounds, |d. ; over 84 pounds, Id. ; over 1 hundredweight, Id. ; 
over 11 hundredweight. l|d. Two of each lot free. 

Weighing in lots, Is. per ton. - • 

Weighing bales and finished pieces in lots for carriage or freight, if by steel- 
yard (not guaranteed), free; if on scales, Is. per ton. 

CARTAGES, RENT, INSURANCE, ETC. NET. 

Goods for finishing carted in free; goods for finishing from Lochee, Is. per 
load net; goods collected for packing only, cartage to be charged Is. 6d. per 
ton, net. 

Goods for shipment here to be charged Is. per ton cartage to shore, net. 

Goods finished or made up by us and delivered in town. Is. per ton, net, to 
be charged for cartage out. 

Goods finished at any associated calendar to be carted free to any other of the 
associated firms. 

Goods received for shipping only and all goods removed in the rough to be 
charged Is. 6d. per ton cartage in. and Is. 6d. per ton cartage out, and 2s: per 
ton for porterage, net. 

Warehouse rent and fire insurance will be charged on all goods at the follow- 
ing rates : For the first month or part of a month, Id. per ton, net ; over 1 month 
and less than 2 months, 3d. ; over 2 and less than 3 months, 6d. ; over 3 and less 
than 4 months, Is. ; over 4 and less than 5 months. Is. 6d. ; over 5 and less than 
6 months, 2s., etc. In each specification the average time the goods are in the 
calendar will be reckoned. 

For storing only, goods, yarns, cops in bags, etc., warehouse rent, and in- 
surance, l's. per ton per month or part of a month ; Is. per ton porterage in and 
Is. per ton porterage out, net. 

On all the foregoing charges 15 per cent discount to be allowed on all goods 
wholly jute and tow-warp pack sheets, unless where the rates are marked net. 

No discount to be allowed on linen or mixed goods, but 5 per cent additional 
to the tariff rates to be charged. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IK SCOTLAND. 
Packing Tariff — Less 3 Per Cent. 



121 



JUTE GOODS AND TOW-WARP PACK SHEET. 



Weight of bales (hundred- 
weight). 


Twilled 

sheet and 

2 hoops. 


Paper, oil 
or tar cloth, 
or paper- 
lined hes- 
sian, twilled 
sheet, and 
2 hoops. 


Hoops only. 


Customers' 

own sheet 

and 2 

hoops. 


Carpet 

bales, 

twilled 

sheet, and 

2 hoops. 


Carpet 

bales ; 

paper, oil or 

tar cloth, 

twilled 
sheet, and 

2 hoops. 


1 


s. d. 

2 6 

3 7 

4 
4 5 
4 8 

4 10 

5 2 
5 7 

5 11 

6 3 

6 7 

7 
7 3 

7 8 

8 3 

8i 


s. d. 

3 9 

4 8 

5 7 

6 4 

7 1 

7 10 

8 7 

9 4 

10 4 

11 

11 10 

12 5 

13 3 

14 
14 9 

1 


s. 
1 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
3 
3 
3 
3 
3 
3 
4 
4 


d. 
9 
1 
4 
5 
7 
9 

10 
1 
2 
4 
5 
8 

10 

3 

3 


s. d. 
2 1 
2 4 
2 7 

2 9 

3 1 
3 2 
3 4 
3 7 
3 8 

3 10 

4 
4 6 

4 9 

5 1 
5 7 

4 


s. d. 

2 7 

3 10 

4 7 

5 1 

5 7 

6 

6 4 

7 

7 4 

8 1 

8 7 

9 3 
9 11 

10 9 

11 5 

10 


s. d. 
3 11 


2 


5 1 


3 


6 3 


4 


7 3 




8 5 


6 .. 


9 4 




10 4 


8 . 


11 2 


9 


12 5 


10 


13 5 


11 


14 6 


12 


15 5 


13 


16 6 


14 


17 8 


15 


18 9 


Each additional hundred- 
weight 


1 4 



LINEN, MIXED, AND OTHER GOODS. 



1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

S 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

Each additional hundred 
weight 



s. 


d. 


2 


11 


4 





4 


8 


5 


1 


5 


6 


5 


8 


5 


11 


6 


4 


6 


10 


7 


2 


8 


1 


8 


5 


8 


9 


9 


5 




10 



s. 


d. 


4 


2 


o 


6 


6 


4 


7 


3 


8 


3 


8 


10 


9 


11 


10 


9 


11 


11 


12 


9 


13 


6 


14 


4 


15 


4 


16 


1 


17 





1 


3 



10 



2 4 

2 7 

3 1 
3 2 
3 7 
3 8 
3 10 



5 11 

6 4 



9 
9 

10 
11 
12 
13 



3 
11 



d. 

7 

11 



2 


7 


2 


11 


8 


5 


4 


9 


8 





10 


9 


3 


11 


11 


1 


13 






14 
15 
16 
17 



1 



18 11 

20 4 

21 8 

1 6 



Paper. id. per sheet. Without ropes or hoops. 6d. per bale less. Hessiau 
sheet, M. per hundredweight less than rates for twilled. Bagging sheet. Id. 
per hundredweight less than rates for twilled. Extra hoop, |d. per hundred- 
weight additional on total weight of bale. Cartage to steamer. Is. per ton net. 
Cross ropes or hoops, 6d. per hoop additional, up to 10 hundredweight; above 
10 hundredweight, in proportion. Full-width cloth, 65 inches and upward, rate 
and quarter. Bales having more than two widths, ^d. per hundredweight extra. 
Boxes: Packing and paper, 2s. 4d. up to 20 cubic feet; larger sizes in exact 
proportion; boxes in addition, but parties may supply their own boxes. 
Boards, lfd. per square foot of wood used. Trusses under 1 hundredweight 
to be charged in proportion to rates for 1 hundredweight, but not less than 
lid. without hoops. Lags, cloth or wool. 3d. per bale, unless carpet bales. 
Marking bales more than twice. 3d. extra for each bale. 

South American yarn bales, packed in twilled sheet and 2 hoops, to be 
charged 10 per cent under tariff rates. If ropes are used instead of hoops. 
Id. per hundredweight additional to above rates to be charged. Rough jute 
goods to be charged at linen rates. 

Sack Sewing Tariff — Less 3 Per Cent. 

Note. — In calculating prices 0.01 to 0.49, inclusive, will be in favor of the 
customer, but 0.50 to 0.99 will be in favor of the calender. 



122 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

OVERHEAD SEAM, JUTE TWINE BY MACHINE. 

Hessian up to 14 ounces, 40 inches, 3s. 2d. per 10,000 inches ; above 14 ounces. 
40 inches, 3s. 4d. 

Bagging under 20 ounces, 42 inches, 3s. 5d. per 10,000 inches; 20 ounces to 
24 ounces, 42 inches, 3s. 8d. ; for each ounce or part of an ounce above 24 ounces, 
Id. additional. 

Sacking up to 16 ounces 27 inches, 3s. 5d. per 10,000 inches ; above 16 ounces 
and under 19 ounces, 27 inches, 3s. 8d. ; 19 ounces to 21 ounces. 27 inches. 
3s. lid. ; for each ounce or part of an ounce above 21 ounces, Id. additional. 

Bagging and twilled woolpacks, with jute twine, 5s. 6d. per 10,000 inches. 

Twilled tarpaulin or bagging bags under 60 inches of sewing, 5s. lid. per 
10,000 inches; but if laid in at bottom as well as side, 6s. 2d. If safety seam 
sewed, 2s. Id. per 100 bags extra. 

Tarpaulin up to 18 ounces, 45 inches, 3s. 4d. per 10,000 inches; above 18 
ounces up to 20 ounces, 45 inches, 3s. 7d. ; for each ounce or part of an ounce 
above 20 ounces, Id. additional. 

Bags, overhead seam, laid in both sides, or side and bottom, 7d. per 10.000 
inches extra. 

Hop pockets, unhemmed ex 24-ounce cloth, sewed with ordinary hemp twine, 
lis. 7d. per 100; ex 28-ounce cloth, 12s. 9d. per 100; and all turning of hop 
pockets to be id. each, and all above 28-ounce to be charged 3d. per ounce 
additional. If Italian hemp twine, 3s. 8d. per 100 extra. 

Cop bags, not less than l|d. each, without handles ; with handles lid- each ; 
if with eyelets, |d. per hole additional. 

For all of foregoing, hemming one-half. 

OVERHEAD SEAM, JUTE TWINE — BY HAND ( 3 TO 4 STITCHES PER INCH). 

Hessian up to 121 ounces, 40 inches, 6s. Id. per 10,000 inches ; over 12| ounces. 
40 inches, Id. additional for each ounce or part of an ounce ; over 4 stitches per 
inch, 6d. per 10,000 inches additional. Hemming, one-half. 

Pig wrappers, with 14 eyelets, 7s. per 100 ; with 16 eyelets, 7s. 7d. ; with 18 
eyelets, 8s. 3d.; with 20 eyelets, 8s. 9d. ; if above 10 ounces, 40 inches, Id. per 
100 wrappers for each additional ounce. Supplying and inserting brass eyelets, 
up to size 24, fd. each; up to size 27, fd. each; up to size 30, |d. each. Tabs 
and rings not less than fd. each. 

Canvas ore bags sewed with flax twine, lx\d. per 100 inches of actual seam ; 
if twine left at mouth, 2d. per 100 bags to be added. 

Dowlas, sheeting, and seed bags, not less than 6s. 9d. rate; hemming, one- 
half ; small quantities and sizes, usual extra ; no bags of this description to be 
sewed under 3s. per 100. 

Hemp twine, Is. 3d. per 10,000 inches additional to rates for jute. 

Sacks sewed with hemp waster, 2s. 5d. per 10,000 inches additional to jute. 

Hand sewing twills, baggings, tarpaulins, etc., jute twine, 8s. 3d. per 10,000 
inches ; ordinary hemp twine, 9s. 6d. per 10,000 inches ; if hemp waster. 10s. 8d. 
per 10,000 inches. Hemming to count one-half. 

Double hand sewing bagging, sacking, tarpaulin, and T. W. hessians. lid, per 
100 inches of single seam. Hemming to count one-third. 

UNION SEAM, FLAX TWINE. 

Hessian up to. 14 ounces, 40 inches, 4-5 stitches. 2s. 6d. per 10,000 inches ; 
5-6 stitches, 2s. lOd. ; 6-7 stitches, 3s. 3d. Hessian above 14 ounces, 40 inches, 
light bagging, tarpaulin, etc., 4-5 stitches, 2s. lOd. per 10,000 inches; 5-6 stitches. 
3s. 2d. ; 6-7 stitches, 3s. 7d. Hemming, one-half. Double sewing unhemmed 
bags, rate and two-thirds. Double sewing hemmed bags, rate and half. 

Biscuit bagging up to and including 4 ounces, 40 inches, double rate; above 
4 ounces, 40 inches, and up to and including 6 ounces, 40 inches, rate and half. 

Round bottom bags to be full tariff rates and 4s. 3d. per 100 extra : thus, 
19 by 84 ex 39-inch cloth would be 7s. 9d. per 100. 

Yeast bags up to 12 by 16, single seam, Is. 3d. per 100; if with round bottoms, 
single seam, 2s. Id. per 100. 

Cotton scrim bags, rate and half. 

Union sewed bags, lined with cotton, double rate to be charged. 



JUTE INDUSTKY IN SCOTLAND. 123 

DOUBLE SEAM ( ONE-HALF MACHINE FLAX TWINE, ONE-HALF HAND, OR OVERHEAD 

MACHINE JUTE TWINE). 

Hessian up to 12 ounces, 40 inches. 6s. 5d. per 10,000 inches; tarpaulins up to 
20 ounces, 45 inches ; baggings up to 22 ounces, 45 inches ; and sackings up to 17 
ounces, 27 inches. 6s. lOd. per 10,000 inches; Id. additional for each half ounce 
or part of half ounce over the above weights. Hemming, one-third. Hemp or 
flax twine, Is. 3d. per 10,000 inches additional. 

Yeast bags up to 11 by 16, 3s. Id. per 100; yeast bags, square bottoms, double 
needle sewed, 91 by 13$, Is. 6d. per 100; 11 by 16, Is. 7d. Yeast bags, double 
seam, up to and including 9£ by 13£ may be done at 2s. lid.; above that sze 
rate must be 3s. Id. per 100. 

SAFETY SEAM. 

Overhead and union seam rates, added together. 

Hemming .to be reckoned separately at one-half of overhead rate. 

Sacking, bagging, tarpaulin, etc., bags, safety seam, heavy jute twine or 
heavy flax twine, to be not less than 4s. 9d. per 10,000 inches; the overhead 
sewing and hemming to be charged at usual rates. 

General. 

Canvas or heavy ore or paper-lined bags, sewed lockstitch with heavy flay 
twine, to be charged 9s. 6d. per 10,000 inches ; if double seam, rate and naif. 
Hemming, same rate as sewing. Bags under 60 inches of sewing and hemming 
to be reckoned ore bags. 

Canvas or padding ore bags, double sewed by hand, l^d. per 100 inches of 
single seam; if half hand, half machine, li d. per 100 inches of single seam. 

Sacking ore bags, double hand sewed, up to 21 ounces, 27 inches, Id. per 
100 inches of single seam; if half hand, half machine, fsd. per 100 inches of 
single seam ; if above 21 ounces, 27 inches, l£d. and id., respectively. 

Lugs stitched across bottom corners. Is. 4d. per 100 tags. 

Twine attached to mouth of bags, Is. 3d. per 100 bags and the cost of twine 
additional. 

Bags under 60 inches of sewing (except twilled, tarpaulin, or bagging bags 
by overhead machine), or lots of less than 200 bags to be charged extra, but 
not less than 6d. additional to above rates per 10,000 inches, or as 60 inches and 
200, respectively. 

No bags to be sewed under Is. 3d. per 100. 

Hemming only, 2s. 7d. per 10,000 inches. 

Double bags to be charged as two separate bags, pnd Ad. per bag additional 
for putting one inside the other ; if union sewed, counterlaid, yVd. 

Double bags hemmed together, the sewing and hemming to be charged as two 
separate bags. 

Lined bags to be charged double rate; that is, whce the cloths are sewn at 
one operation. This clause does not apply to paper-lined bags. 

Hessian woolpacks, 5s. per 10,000 inches for overhead seam ; union, 4s. 4d. 

Stitching hessian with jute twine or heavy flax twine, not less than 3s. 9d. 
per 10,000 inches ; hessian, 14 ounces, 40 inches or over, and other heavy goods, 
not less than 4s. Hemming, one-third. 

Sewing ore bags T seam, up to 12 by 20 inches, Ud. per bag; from 12 by 20 
to 16 by 24, id. per bag; above 16 by 24, Id. per bag; if not sewn at mouth and 
no string left. 6d. per 100 less. 

Twilled woolpacks or sheets, etc., where sewed with fell seam, such felling 
to be charged 2s. lOd. per 10.000 inches. 

All bags sewed with tarred or dyed twine, 3d. per 10,000 inches extra. 

The above prices include making up in suitable bundles for packing. Sacks 
forwarded loose to be charged fd. per bundle, up to 80 pounds, for extra tying 
and twine ; above 80 pounds, in proportion. 

Unrolling or running down Calcutta or other goods previous to sew T ing. Id. 
per cut of 100 yards. 

It is recommended that for cutting of bags 2| inches be allowed, at least, 
upon all tarpaulin, bagging, and sacking up to 19/27 ; if above that weight. 3 
inches. If less cutting is allowed, responsibility will not be undertaken for 
size. Hessian, 6 ounces, 40 inches, and under, 4 to 5 inches to be allowed. Light 
hessian, 6 to 8 ounces, 40 inches, 2| to 3 inches tc be allowed; about 8 ounces, 
2 inches. 



124 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

Hessian sheets, single sewed by union machine, id. per yard. Hemming to 
be reckoned as sewing. Hessian sheets, double sewed, flat" seam, by machine, 
id. per yard of seam. Hemming to count as one seam. 

Stamping — Less 3 Per Cent. 

Machine stamping in black, id. per impression, but minimum charge to be 
2s. 6d. 

By stencil in black, plate provided by customer, rsd. per impression ; if over 
576 square inches id. Small stencil plates containing not more than 144 square 
inches of stamping may, however, be done for isd. a side. Minimum charge for 
stencil stamping to be Is. 

Small hand block, up to 16 square inches, on one side, jhd. per bag. 

Stamping one side in black by machine, if lots exceed 3,000 bags at one time, 
and stamp not over 256 square inches, Ad. per impression. If fancy colors, 
one-third extra. 

Bleachers' bags, stamped on two sides, fancy colors. id. each ; if black, fd. 
If stamped in two colors, one black and one fancy, ihd. per side ; if both colors 
fancy, |d. 

Stamping running numbers on bags, £d. each number stamped, up to four 
figures. If figures exceed 3 inches in size, id. If over four figures, rate to be 
in proportion to that for four figures. 

If not sewed as well as stamped, bundling and tying to be charged l^d- per 
bundle of 60 pounds or under ; if for packing, Id. ; over 60 pounds in proportion. 

Bags received sewed and required to be turned for inside stamping, |d. 
per bag to be charged extra in the case of hessian, and id. per bag extra in 
the case of bagging, tarpaulin, and sacking bags for turning. 

Second-hand bags must not be sent to any calender without previous arrange- 
ment as to rates for storage and stamping, but not to be less than rate and half 
for stamping. 

Carting to steamer, Is. per ton, net. If delivered in town, cartage to be 
charged Is. per ton, net. 

Accounts. 

Accounts to be rendered monthly; cash to be paid within the following 
month. Goods transferred a^e subject to all charges, including rent and in- 
surance, and these charges are to be paid by the party transferring. A lien is 
held over all goods for previous unpaid charges, past due or current, whether 
in bills or open accounts. 

MINIMUM TARIFF— THE TRADES LANE CALENDERING CO. (LTD.), 
DUNDEE. CLOTH DYEING, STARCHING, AND FINISHING, APRIL 1, 
1913. 

TThe charges effective Apr. 1, 1913, are minimum tariff, plus an additional 5 per cent.] 
Jute Paddings and P. S. Hessians, 24 Inches up to 30 Inches. 

Dyeing black, soft finishing, no addition to weight, up to 8 ounces, 24 inches, 
iVd. per running yard 24 inches wide; above 8 and up to 11 ounces, 24 inches, 
fd. per running yard 24 inches wide; above 11 ounces, 24 inches, Ad. per run- 
ning yard 24 inches wide. If any addition is made to weight by whatever 
process, £d. per running yard 24 inches wide to be added to above rates for each 
ounce or part of an ounce; if over 3 ounces added, double rates to be charged 
for each ounce after the 3 ounces. If split, Id. per split cut to be charged addi- 
tional. If above 24 inches wide, in proportion. Stiffened goods, if lapped, Ad. 
per square yard additional. If goods finished by us before dyeing, Ad. per yard 
additional to be charged. Goods without P. S. to be charged on split width 
and splitting at 2d. per cut. 

Jute Baggings, Pocketings, Tarpaulins, Etc., up to ff Inches. 

Dyeing black and making up only, Ad. per pound gray weight ; dyeing black 
and soft finishing, fd. per pound gray weight. If starched, id. per yard for each 
ounce or part of an ounce added; goods over 36 inches wide, minimum rate 
for starching, id. Stiffened goods, if lapped, Ad. per square yard additional. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 125 

If goods finished by us before dyeing, Ad. per yard additional to be charged up 
to 40 inches wide ; above, in proportion. 

Jute Hessian up to 54 Inches Wide. 

Dyeing black and making up only, f d. per pound gray weight ; dyeing black 
and soft finishing, no weight added, Sid. per pound gray weight. If starched, 
id. per yard for each ounce or part of an ounce added; goods over 36 inches 
wide, minimum rate for starching, Id. 

Hessians, scrims, etc., up to 5i ounces, 40 inches, dyed black and soft finish- 
ing, l|d. per pound gray weight. Hessians, scrims, etc., above 5i ounces, 40 
inches, up to and including 7i ounces, 40 inches, to be charged at Ad. per yard 
40 inches wide, and other widths in proportion. Stiffened goods, if lapped, 
Ad. per square yard additional. 

If goods finished by us before dyeing, Ad. per yard additional to be charged 
up to 40 inches wide; above, in proportion. Goods over 54 inches wide, Id. 
and ild., respectively. 

Tow Warp and Jute Weft Paddings, 24 Inches up to 54 Inches Wide 

Dyeing black, ljd. per pound gray weight. 

Flax Paddings, 24 Inches up to 54 Inches Wide. 

Dyeing black, ljd. per pound gray weight. 

Cotton Warp and Jute Weft Paddings. 

Dyeing black, lid. per pound gray weight ; for every ounce required to be 
added, id. additional per yard. Finishing to be charged additional as follows : 
Calendering, id. per running yard up to 36 inches; above, per square yard. 
Mangling, up to .25 inches, id. per running yard; 26 inches and up to 36 inches, 
i 5 ed. per running yard; above 36 inches, ?kd. per square yard. Stiffened goods, 
if lapped, Ad. per square yard additional. 

Fancy Dyeing. 

Jute goods. — Tan brown (including soft finishing), l^d. per pound gray 
weight. All weights up to 8 ounces, 40 inches, to be charged not less than fd. 
per yard 40 inches wide; other widths in proportion. Tan brown, if slightly 
stiffened, id. per pound additional ; tan brown, if hard stiffened, f d. per pound 
additional. Other fancy colors (including soft finishing), lid. per pound gray 
weight. If bleached shades, 2id. per pound gray weight. 

Tow warp goods, linen goods, and cotton goods. — Dyeing fancy colors, 2id. 
and upward per pound gray weight. Finishing to be charged extra, as pre- 
viously scheduled. Goods above 65 inches wide to be charged extra as per 
agreement. Smaller quantities than 2 hundredweight of any color to be 
charged rate and half. 

Dyeing brown or other colors on one side, 2f§d. per square yard. Stiffened 
goods, if lapped, Ad. per square yard additional. 

Shrinking, goods up to 8 ounces per square yard, Ad. per square yard; over 
8 ounces and up to 16 ounces per square yard, id. per square yard; over 16 
ounces per square yard, fd. per square yard. If finished before or after shrink- 
ing, such finishing to be charged. 

Jute Goods. 

Creaming or bleaching, including double chest finishing, lid. per pound gray 
weight. Drying hessians, id. per yard up to 40 inches; above 40 inches, in 
proportion. Drying tarpaulin, bagging, sacking, etc., ^d. per yard up to 40 
inches ; above 40 inches, in proportion. 

Jute Paddings, Hessians, 24 Inches up to 30 Inches, 

Stiffened and finished, adding up to 1 ounce on 24 inches, rsd. per yard 24 
inches wide ; adding up to 4 ounces on 24 inches, isd. per yard 24 inches wide ; 



126 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

adding over 4 ounces on 24 inches, fd. per yard 24 inches wide. If above 24 
inches wide, in proportion. Splitting to be charged Id. per split cut extra. If 
lapped, jhd. per square yard additional. If crisped, 2d. additional per end, or 
4d. per cut of 100 yards. 

Hessians, Buckrams, Etc, Above 30 Inches up to 54 Inches Wide, Finished 

or Unfinished. 

Starching, adding 2 ounces per square yard, fd. per square yard ; adding up 
to 6 ounces per square yard, ild. per square yard; adding above 6 ounces per 
square yard, l|d. per square yard. If above 18 ounces, 40 inches, extra to be 
charged. Bagging and tarpaulin, £d. per square yard additional. If crisped, 
2d. additional per end, or 4d. per cut of 100 yards. If lapped, ^d. per square 
yard additional. 

Collar vanvas, starched only, ducks and hessians, l|d. per square yard. 
Heavy goods, lfd. per square yard. 

Gum Finishing. 

Hessian up to 14 ounces, 40 inches, 2£d. per square yard; if above, 3d. per 
square yard. Sacking or bagging. 3^d. per square yard. Sackings to be 
charged rVd. per square yard extra for rolling. If black, dyeing to be charged 
extra at tariff rates. 

Glue Finishing. 

Hessian, 2£d. per square yard and upward. Sacking, 3d. per square yard and 
upward. If black, dyeing to be charged extra at tariff rates. 

General. 

Should goods be received crisped and rolled, either for dyeing or for starching, 
a charge of 3d. per cut of 100 yards to be made for unrolling and uncrisping. 
If received rolled, full width, Id. per cut to be charged for unrolling. All 
goods for starching without P. S., which are split to be charged as wide goods, 
and splitting 2d. per split cut additional. All stiffened goods, which are lapped 
instead of rolled, to be charged ihd. per square yard additional. 

All single-piece and two-piece order lots to be charged rate and half. This 
applies to all the tariff. 

Packing tariff for dyed and starched goods to be ordinary calender charges. 

Cartages, Rent, Insurance, etc. 

All goods carted to steamer, cartage at Is. per ton to be charged. 

Warehouse rent and fire insurance will be charged on all goods at the follow- 
ing rates : For the first month or part of month, Id. per ton, net ; over 1 month 
and under two months, 3d. per ton, net ; over 2 and under 3 months, 6d. ; 
over 3 and under 4 months, Is. ; over 4 and under 5 months, Is. 6d. ; over 5 and 
under 6 months, 2s. ; etc. In each specification the average time the goods 
are in the calender will be reckoned. 

Goods transferred are subject to all charges, including rent and insurance. 
A lien is held over all goods for previous unpaid charges, whether in bill or 
open Mccounts. 

Terms: Accounts rendered monthly; cash to be paid within the following 
month. / 

OPERATIVES AND WAGES. 

The latest official statistics as to the operatives in the jute industry 
of the United Kingdom are for 1907, which show that in that year 
the total number of operatives was 39,785. The number, age, and 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 



127 



sex of the operatives in the jute factories at various periods have 
been as follows: 



Half-timers. 


Full-timers. 




Years. 

Males. 




Males. 


Females. 1 


Total. 


Total. 


Females. 


xuiai. 


Under 18. 


Over 18. 


Under 18. 


Over 18. 




1870 . ... 151 


447 598 
1,875 3,293 
1,980 3,522 
2,321 4,321 
1,465 2.948 


1,594 
3,670 
2,972 
3,116 
3,708 
3,037 
2,611 
2,609 


2,627 
6,444 
6,060 
7,834 
9,217 
9,243 
9,650 
9,616 




12, 751 
24,513 
23,800 
26,403 
28,937 
22,822 
23,805 
22, 822 


16,972 
34,627 
32,832 
37, 353 
41,862 
39, 797 
40, 485 
39,470 


17, 570 


1874 1,418 




37, 920 


1878 1,542 




36,354 
41,674 


1885 ' 2,000 




1890 1,483 




44,810 


1895 1,067 

1904....... 338 

1907 141 


1,226 
435 
174 


2,293 
773 
315 


4,695 
4,419 

4,423 


42,090 
41,258 
39, 785 



1 Number under 18 years of age first stated separately in 1895. 

The age at which children can commence work in factories was 
raised to 12 years by the factory act of 1901, and this had a very 
noticeable effect on the number of children employed as half-timers in 
the last two enumerations. 

The number of operatives in the jute industry of the United King- 
dom was greatest in 1890, since which time there has been a decline. 
Part of this loss in numbers may be traced to the fewer half-timers 
now employed and part attributed to improved machinery and organi- 
zation. However, taken in connection with the reduction in output, 
these figures show that the British jute industry reached its zenith 
in 1890." 

LARGE PROPORTION OF FEMALE OPERATIVES. 

Of the 39,785 jute workers in 1907 about 70 per cent were females 
and only about 30 per cent males. About two-thirds of these were 
paid by time and only about one-third by the piece. In India a 
majority of the jute operatives are males, but they work long hours 
and at low wages. In order to compete with India other countries 
are compelled to pay wages so low that they attract only workers who 
can not make a livelihood in better-paying industries. This is espe- 
cially true of Dundee, where the men find work in shops, shipbuild- 
ing plants, house building, etc., while the women and girls fill the 
much lower-paid occupations in the jute industry. Jute manufac- 
turing is so well known as a woman's industry that many women 
from the country and from towns without sufficient home industries 
are attracted to Dundee, while many Dundee men who can not find 
an opening in other local industries move to places where they can 
make better wages than by competing with the women in the jute fac- 
tories. Up to the age of 18 the proportion of the sexes in Dundee is 
about normal, for many boys are employed in the mills as shifters, 
etc., but as soon as they outgrow such work they lose their jobs, and 
having no prospects in the only occupation for which they are trained 
they have to start as unskilled laborers elsewhere. For this reason 
Dundee contains many more women than men, the census of 1911 
showing that of a total of 165,004, 91,763 were females and only 
73.241 males. 

Over half of the women in Dundee are returned in the 1911 census 
as following some remunerative occupation, the figures showing that 



128 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



53.8 per cent of all females over 15 years of age are so employed. The 
number of married women who work is much larger proportionately 
than in other Scottish towns. In Edinburgh, for instance, 5.1 per cent 
of the married women work for wages and in Glasgow 5.5 per cent, 
while in Dundee no less than 23.4 per cent of the married women are 
so employed. The number of children between the ages of 12 and 15 
who work for wages has been largely lessened in late years, and this 
decrease is especially noticeable in the employment of 12 and 13 year 
old half-timers in the jute industry. 

EFFECT OF OVEREMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN. 

" In the Dundee jute industry overemployment of women and 
underemployment of men are found associated with the highest infant 
death rate in Scotland, a high illegitimate birth rate, and great pov- 
erty," is a statement by the woman president of the Dundee Social 
Union. The large number of married women employed in the fac- 
tories and the short period they can afford to stay away from work, 
together with the crowded and squalid conditions in which so many 
live, account largely for the high infant mortality. In recent years 
the municipality and private agencies have done considerable to alle- 
viate this condition by the establishment of day nurseries at which 
infants can be left while the mothers are at work, by financing special 
restaurants for nursing mothers where they can get proper food at 
a nominal cost, by the appointment of women visitors who are com- 
petent to give expert advice and assistance, by lectures for mothers 
on hygiene and domestic economy, and in other ways. 

The lot of the unmarried worker is much more favorable than that 
of the married. In some departments wages run up to £1 ($4.87) a 
week; 15s. ($3.65) is a common wage in the factory, and lis. or 12s. 
($2.68 or $2.92) in the mill. In Dundee it is very common for young 
girls, tired of the crowded two-room home, to leave and associate with 
other girls, three or four of whom club together and have their own 
home and live very comfortably on their wages. Owing to the 
scarcity of men many such sets of companions live and work together 
until the bond is broken by death. There are, of course, many aged 
and lonely women, and provision for those between .60 and 70 years 
of age is made by various mortifications and funds that grant a small 
monthly pension. 

AVERAGE WAGES OF OPERATIVES. 

The latest complete investigation into the wages of jute workers 
was made by the Government for the last pay week of September, 
1906, and it showed the wages of full-time workers to have been as 
follows : 






Operatives. 


Dundee. 

■ 


United 
King- 
dom. 


Operatives. 


Dundee. 


United 
King- 
dom. 




$5.25 

2.68 

2.62 
2.76 
3,00 
3.53 


$5. 25 

2.66 

2.60 

2.76 

2.98 

1 3.53 


W omen — Continued . 




Lads and boys, all occupa- 
tions 


Weavers — 


$3.41 
3.81 
3.28 
2.37 


$3. 39 


Women: 


Two looms 


3.65 


Carders 


All women 


3.26 


Drawers 


Girls, all occupations 


2.35 


Spinners..., 

Winders. 


Average, all jute workers 




3.49 


3.47 






..... 





JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 129 

The decreases and increases in the wages of Dundee jute workers 
since 1890 have been as follows: In February, 1890, there was a 5 
per cent increase granted to spinning-mill workers, including reelers 
and winders, but not weaving factory workers and mechanics. In 
May, 1892, there was a 5 per cent decrease, and in December, 1899, 
a 5 per cent increase. From 1900 to 1905, inclusive, there was no 
change. In February, 1906, there was a general strike and spinners 
and preparers in March, 1906, were granted a 5 per cent increase. 
The wages shown above were compiled in September of that year. 

In February, 1907, a further increase was asked for and the wages 
of all workers, including weavers, were advanced 5 per cent, and 
those of spinners and others on time-work were raised 9d. a week. 
In January, 1912, a demand for higher wages was lodged with the 
secretary of the Dundee Spinners and Manufacturers' Association, 
asking a 10 per cent increase for all paid over 20s. ($4.87) a week 
and a 15 per cent raise for all paid under that amount. A great lock- 
out of the jute mills followed on April 10, 1912, which was settled 
by a raise of 2-J per cent on the weekly earnings of spinners and 
preparers to come into effect June 28, 1912. In the fall there was 
another demand for increased wages, and the employers granted an 
increase of 5 per cent, effective October 4, 1912, to all operatives 
in both mill and factory. In January, 1913, there was a demand for 
another increase of 10 per cent, and after negotiations an increase of 
5 per cent was granted, effective February 28, 1913, to all workers in 
the batching, preparing, and spinning departments, the maximum in- 
crease in any case to be Is. (24.3 cents). Winding and weaving rates, 
as well as those for tenters, calender workers, and dye workers, were 
also increased 5 per cent in most cases, with a maximum raise of Is. 
per week. 

- Next to the Irish flax workers, Dundee jute workers are the lowest 
paid of all employees in the textile industries of the United King- 
dom. The increasing cost of living has caused such dissatisfaction 
that, with the growing scarcity of local labor due to emigration, to 
workers going into other occupations, etc., the manufacturers find it 
more and more difficult to withstand the pressure for higher wages. 

LABOR ORGANIZATIONS. 

Neither employers nor employees are very strongly organized. The 
manufacturers are rather jealous of each other. For instance, it is 
rare for one manufacturer to allow another to visit his plant, and it 
is difficult to get them to take any concerted action. A majority 
belong to the Dundee and District Spinners and Manufacturers' Asso- 
ciation, but some of the largest refuse to join, and act independently 
in wage and other disputes with the workers. 

The first of the two principal operatives' unions was founded in 
1885 and is called the Dundee and District Mill and Factory Opera- 
tives' Union. It had a membership in 1910 of 5,111 women and 1,226 
men, and is purely a local society. It is managed by a clergyman, 
who in some instances has been able to persuade manufacturers to 
increase wages without the necessity of a strike. The weekly assess- 
ment is a penny (2 cents). The second society, the Dundee and 
District Union of Jute and Flax Workers, was organized in 1905 
along the lines of affiliated union work and had a membership in 1910 
13002°— No. 74—13 9 



130 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

of 4,000 women and 1,097 men. There are also small unions at 
Kirkcaldy, Forfar, Arbroath, and Aberdeen. 

Wages have advanced since the publication of the 1906 figures pre- 
viously given, and the present wages are shown in the wage list of a 
typical jute mill (see p. 131). Wages of jute workers are so much 
below those of cotton and wool workers that demands for an increase 
are expected by the employees in the near future, especially if there 
is a continuance of the present prosperity. There is no uniform wage 
schedule among the jute mills and considerable variations are found 
from mill to mill ; the scale shown for the typical mill referred to is 
said by a mill expert to represent a fair average for to-day. 

HOUSING CONDITIONS. 

Housing conditions in Dundee, as a whole, are and always have 
been very poor. Over 63 per cent of the inhabitants live in houses 
of two rooms or less, the result of the expensive stone tenement 
system, which tends to overcrowding. The advantage of a fairly 
large kitchen is neutralized by the habit of having a bed in it, always 
used in preference to " the room." In the newer tenements a recess 
is generally made for the bedstead. In houses of three apartments 
the parlor sometimes contains an inclosed bed recess; but more gen- 
erally a folding bed is used. In the newer .dwellings the kitchen 
measures about 14 by 13 feet and is 11 feet high, with hot and cold 
water scullery, and the rooms are 12 by 14 feet. The required height 
is now 9 feet 6 inches on the ground floor and 9 feet on the floors 
above. Some of the newer tenements are equipped with water- 
closets in each house, but rarely with a bathroom. In general, how- 
ever, the closets are on the stairs, sometimes one for each family, 
more usually one for the two or four families on each floor. Each 
tenement is supplied with a washhouse and some kind of back space 
or drying ground. The drying of clothes is accomplished by means 
of a tall pole erected in the rear, to which ropes are run on blocks 
from the kitchen windows. In rare cases a drying chamber is fitted 
under ground, with direct ventilation. 

Most of the jute operatives live in three or four story tenements 
without attics. Only a very small proportion live in detached build- 
ings. In Scotland the census definition of a house is any dwelling 
with a distinct outside entrance from a street, court, or lane, or with 
a door opening directly into a common stair or passage. One, two, 
or more rooms inhabited by a family are therefore referred to as a 
house, whether it be a detached building or a room or suite of rooms 
in the heart of a big tenement. 

In some districts there is much old property, and there are numer- 
ous " back lands," that is, houses having no frontage on the street, 
but connected with it by a passage or narrow alley only, and in- 
habited by the very poorest class. The blocks facing on the street 
are often of modern construction, having been built on the site of 
earlier buildings that have been demolished, while the back-land 
buildings inside are ancient structures in bad condition. The interior 
courts are used for ash pits, clotheslines, etc., and are often dirty and 
noisome. Usually the buildings on the street are inhabited by well- 
to-do workers, while those behind are the abiding places of the very 
poorest. Much has been written in recent years about the bad hous- 
ing conditions of Dundee, and the municipality has made efforts to 
improve conditions. However no concerted effort has yet been made 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 131 

at any definite scheme of municipal housing. These conditions are 
due largely to the crowded area of the burg. Available for the 
housing of 165.004 people is a burg area of only 4,881 acres, not 
including 400 acres of foreshore. Allowing for 331 acres of parks 
and cemeteries and the amount taken by public buildings, railroads, 
stores, as well as the large estates of the wealthier classes, the land 
available for housing the bulk of the population is very small. 

Kates are paid weekly by the poorer and more transient classes, 
and usually semiannually by the others, monthly or quarterly pay- 
ments being rare. A Government inquiry in 1908 shows that of the 
total population of Dundee 11.3 per cent occupied houses of one 
room; 51.7 per cent houses of two rooms; 20.1 per cent, three rooms; 
6.6 per cent, four rooms, and only 10.3 per cent houses of five or more 
rooms. It was found that the average rent for one-room houses varied 
from 2s. to 2s. 3d. (48.7 to 54.7 cents) per week. Some of the back- 
land rooms rented for as low as Is. 6d. (36.5 cents) per room, while 
single rooms with bed closet, or two attics, rented for as much as 
2s. 6d. (60.8 cents). Two rooms rented for 2s. to 4s. 9d. (48.7 cents to 
$1.16) according to size and location, three rooms for 5s. 2d. to 7s. 
Id. ($1.26 to $1.72), and four rooms for 7s. lOd. to 9s. 5d. ($1.91 to 
$2.29) according to flat occupied. The rent paid by jute workers 
averages about 50 cents per room per week, and a majority of the 
families of workers live in two rooms or less. 

COST OF TYPICAL FACTORY. 

To show concretely the amount of different machinery required, 
together with the usual production and wages in a typical Dundee 
jute factory working on a standard article, the following complete 
data were obtained from a prominent Scottish textile expert. 

SPECIFICATIONS OF ARTICLE TO BE MANUFACTURED. 

The article to be made is the standard staple article of manufac- 
ture in the jute industry, that is, the 11-porter, 40-inch, 10^-ounce, 
13-shot, chested-finish hessian. The term porter refers to the reed 
through which the warp threads pass on the loom and which regu- 
lates the number of warp threads per unit of width. At Dundee this 
reed is reckoned by the number of porters of 20 splits, 2 ends to a 
split, in the Scottish ell of 37 inches. The warp is spaced 43^ inches 
wide in the reed, which gives a rough width from the loom of about 
41J inches, and in finishing this is calendered down to 40 inches. The 
length of warp laid from the dressing machine is 108 yards, which 
gives about 10t| yards of rough cloth from the loom, and in calender- 
ing this is drawn out to 105 yards. The number of ends in the warp 
is 11X20X2X43^ divided by 37, or 516, of which 508 are usually of 
jute and 8 of cotton for the selvage. The shots, or picks, in the fin- 
ished cloth are to be 13 per inch, so that there will need to be inserted 
13X36X105 divided by 36Xl01for, say, 13^ picks on the loom. 

The weight of a finished piece of 105 yards will be 105X10J divided 

by 16, or 68.91 pounds. There will be used 8J- pounds per spyndle 

warp, which after dressing would be 9 pounds per spyndle, and 8-| 

pounds per spvndle weft. 

™ . ,/- • ,n , 11X20X2X431X108 
Ine weight or warp in a cut figures out as q7vi4 400 ' or 

3.88 spyndles. Multiplying 3.88 by 9 gives 34.92 pounds as the weight 



132 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

of the warp sized, or 3.88 by 8J gives 32.98 pounds as weight of the 
warp unsized. 

™;' ...,',. *, a 13X431X105 

lbe weight or welt m a cut figures out as 44400 ' or 4.123 

spyndles. Multiplying 4.123 by 8 J gives 35.05 pounds. 

Allowing 3 per cent for waste in warp during winding, dressing, 
and weaving we shall need 33.97 pounds warp, and allowing 5 per 
cent as waste in weft during winding and weaving we shall need 36.8 
pounds of weft, a total of 70.77 pounds of yarn per cut. 

In a 600-loom factory, using 46^-inch reed space looms running at 
146 picks per minute, the weekly production with 25 per cent allow - 

600X146X60X54 
ance for stoppage is l^yqfi X0.75, or 454,846 yards, Avhich 

is 4,332 cuts of 105 yards each, or 7.22 cuts per loom. The total weight 
of finished cloth turned out per week would be 4,332 times 68.91, or 
298,518 pounds. 

The 8^ pounds per spyndle warp required from the spinning room 
will be 4,332X33.97, or 147,158 pounds, and the 8£ pounds per 
spyndle weft 4,332X36.80, or 159,418 pounds, a total of 306,576 
pounds. 

The yarn is spun upon flyer frames 4-inch pitch and 4-inch traverse. 
The warp spindles are operated at 3,300 revolutions per minute, in- 
serting 4J turns twist per inch, while the weft spindles are operated 
at 3,100 revolutions per minute with 3J turns twist per inch. 

The production per spindle per week of 54 working hours with 15 

per cent allowed for stoppage would be as follows : Total warp per 

. 3,300X60X54X81 . . ,. ' 

week Aiy^yu 40Q — X0.85, or 33.11 pounds per spindle; total 

*. 2 1 3,100X60X54X8^ w/xoe 
weft per week QiyQfiyi4 4oo X0.85, or 40 pounds per spindle. 

Using 31 warp frames of 144 spindles, or 4,464 spindles in all, the 
weekly production would be 4,464X33.11, or 147,803 pounds of 8J 
pounds per spyndle warp. Using 28 weft frames of 144 spindles, or 
4,032 spindles in all, the weekly production would be 4,032X40, or 
161,280 pounds of 8-J pounds per spyndle weft. The total yarn pro- 
duction would thus be 309,083 pounds a week from 8,496 spindles. 

Using single roving weighing 80 pounds per spyndle the draft on 
both warp and weft frames making 8J pounds per spyndle yarn would 
be 80 divided by 8J, or 9.41. 

The roving frames are of 56 spindles each, using 10 by 5 inch bob- 
bins, making 80 pounds per spyndle rove with a twist of 0.8 turn per 
inch and using a draft of 8J. The 2i-inch diameter drawing rollers 
are run at 113 revolutions per minute and the spindles at 639 
revolutions per minute. The production per spindle per week is 
639X60X54X80 v/A>7n _. Ka , „ . Qn , , 

8 y Tfiv T4 400 ^ ' or 2 ' 9 - 56 pounds, allowing 30 per cent stop- 
page, and the production on 20 frames would be 20X56X279.56, or 
313,100 pounds a week, which is a little more than necessary and 
allows time for cleaning Saturday. 

It has been shown that the yarn required from the spinning would 
be 306,576 pounds a week, and as the oil and water added to the jute, 
though part of it dries out, will more than counterbalance the loss of 
weight by waste, the raw jute required to run the mill a week may 
be taken as 765 bales of 400 pounds, or 306,000 pounds. 




JUTE INDUSTRY IK SCOTLAND. 



133 



COST OF MILL AND EQUIPMENT. 



In the mill we can figure on 1 jute opener and 3 jute softeners with 
65 pairs of rollers and fitted with batching gear for feeding on the 
oil and water. The dollop fed into the breaker cards at each round 
of the clock will be 33 pounds. Ten breaker cards with two pairs of 
Avorkers and strippers to the card will be used, the 6 by 4 foot cylin- 
ders being run at 190 revolutions per minute. There will be required 
20 finisher cards, complete circle, using four pairs of workers and 
strippers to the card, and the 6 by 4 foot cylinders will be run at 180 
revolutions per minute. The draft on. both breakers and finishers 
will be about 12. One finisher card supplies one two-headed first and 
second drawing of the push-bar type and each two-headed second 
drawing supplies one 56-spindle roving frame of the spiral type, 
using 10 by 5 inch bobbins. 

The following table gives the cast of a jute mill and factory having 
8 3 496 spindles and 600 hessian looms: 



Items. 



MACHINERY. 

1 jute opener, at £220 

3 jute softeners, with 65 pairs rollers and batching apparatus, at £330 each 

10 down-striker shell-breaker cards, 6 by 4 foot cylinders with covers, at £240 each. 

20 full-circular finisher cards, 6 by 4 foot cylinders with covers, at £270 each 

20 push-bar first drawing frames,"^ heads each, 4 bosses per head, at £150 each 

20 push-bar second drawing frames, 2 heads each, 4 bosses per head, at £150 each. . . 
20spiral roving frames, 56 spindles each, 10 by 5 inch bobbins, 10-inch reach, total of 

1,120 spindles, at 130s. per spindle 

31 warp-spinning frames, 144 spindles each, 4-inch pitch, 4 by 2\ inch bobbins, total 

of 4,464 spindles, at 35s. per spindle 

28 weft-spinning frames, 144 spindles each , 4-inch pitch, 4 by 2\ inch bobbins, total of 

4,032 spindles, at 35s. per spindle 

12 cop- winding machines, 120 spindles each, making 10 by If inch cops, total of 1,440 

spindles, at 31s. per spindle 

12 roh- winding machines for warp, 80 spindles each, total of 960 spindles, at 35s. per 

spindle 

12 yarn-dressing machines, with six 4-foot steel cylinders each, at £340 each 

24 500-bobbin banks, at £25 each ; 

5 drawing-in frames, at £4 each 

600 overpick hessian looms, 46J-inch reed space, at £24 5s. each 

4 90-inch cropping machines, at £90 each 

2 90-inch double damping machines, at £65 each 

6 90-inch 5-bowled calenders, at £580 each 

1 90-inch patent hydraulic mangle, at £1,200 

6 90-inch measuring machines, at £65 each 

2 power and 2 hand sack-cutting machines 

60 sewing machines with tables, etc. , at £16 each , 

1 sack printer 

2 double 17-inch ram hydraulic presses with one set of 8-barrel pumps ,. 

Total 

Machine ascessories and stores 

BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT, STEAM PLANT, ETC. 

Eight Lancashire shell boilers, 30 by 7 feet 6 inches, with piping and fittings, 

at £600 ....... 

One 2,000-norsepower cross-compound condensing engine 

Two 298-tube economizers with valves, dampers, etc. , at £350 each 

Stokers, feed pumps, and other boiler and engine equipment 

Engine and boiler seatings 

Chimney .... 

Electric-light equipment complete 

Pipes for heating, for supplying steam to slashers, etc 

Shafting, pulleys, hangers, couplings, etc 

Ropes and belting 

Buildings and miscellaneous 

Total 

Grand total • 



English 


American 


currency. 


currency. 


£220 


$1,070.63 


990 


4,817.83 


2,400 


11,679.60 


5,400 


26, 279. 10 


3,000 


14, 599. 50 


3,000 


14,599.50 


7,280 


35, 428. 12 


7,812 


38,017.10 


7,056 


34,338.02 


2,232 


10,862.03 


1,680 


8, 175. 72 


4,080 


19,855.32 


600 


2, 919. 90 


20 


97.33 


14, 550 


70, 807. 58 


360 


1,751.94 


130 


632.65 


3,480 


16,935.42 


1,200 


5, 839. 80 


390 


1,897.93 


240 


1, 167. 96 


960 


4,671.84 


60 


291.99 


2,500 


12, 166. 25 


69, 640 


338,903.06 


3,500 


17,032.75 


4,800 


23,359.20 


8,000 


38, 932. 00 


- 700 


3, 406. 55 


700 


3, 406. 55 


5,000 


24,332.50 


1,400 


6,813.10 


1,000 


4,866.50 


500 


2, 433. 25 


2,500 


-12, 166. 25 


750 


3,649.88 


75, 000 


364,987.50 


100,350 


488,353.28 


173, 490 


844,2S9.09 



134 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



The bag-making department and the offices are in a three-story 
addition, but the main mill is a one-story building. At one end is 
the jute warehouse, and beside this, in order, the preparing and spin- 
ning room, the weave room, and the finishing plant. The mill has 
brick walls, saw-tooth roof, round iron columns, and cement floor. 

The total first cost of a spinning and weaving mill, complete with 
machinery, buildings, and equipment, comes to £289, or $1,407, per 
loom. Allowing for land, the first cost may be taken as approxi- 
mately £300, or $1,460, per loom. 

Urquhart, Lindsay & Co. (Ltd.) , machinery builders and engineers, 
state that it is customary at Dundee to figure on the amount of capital 
required to erect, equip, and operate a complete jute-manufacturing 
plant at £450 per loom, and taking £300 per loom as the sum required 
for the complete first cost, this allows £150 as working capital. A 
large part of this, of course, would be tied up in stock and goods 
in process, raw-jute supply, and finished goods not shipped. 

COST OF OPERATING FACTORY. 

The following table gives the wages paid for operating the mill 
one week: 



Operatives. 



Weekly wages. 



English 
currency. 



American 
currency. 



JUTE MILL. 

1 overseer, at 50s. a week 

2 assistant foremen, at 25s 

2 men handling bales from warehouse to batching room, at 24s 

4 men at bale openers, at 23s 

8 men stricking up, at 20s 

9 men at softening machines, 6 at 20s. and 3 at 18s 

2 men carting jute, at 20s 

35 operatives around 10 breaker cards, at 14s 

70 operatives around 20 finisher cards, at 12s 

20 drawers, 4 heads each, at 12s 

20 backminders for drawing and roving, at 12s 

20 roving minders, 56 spindles each, at 14s 

1 shifting mistress, at 15s 

8 roving- frame shifters, at 12s 

3 rove carriers, at 19s 

31 warp spinners, minding 144 spindles each, at 15s 

42 weft spinners, minding 108 spindles each, at 15s 

18 piecers, at 14s 

6 bobbin setters, at 12s 

6 shifting mistresses, at 18s 

48 shifters, at 13s 

3 bobbin carriers, at 19s 

3 list boys, at 13s 

3 oilers, at 16s 

3 sweepers, at 12s 

3 pickers, at 17s 

JUTE FACTORY. 

1 foreman warp winding, at 25s 

1 foreman weft winding, at 25s 

96 cop winders, 15 spindles each, winding 159,418 pounds, or 325,213 spyndles, at 

6d. per 100 spyndles 

48 warp winders, 20 spindles each, winding 147,158 pounds, or 300,202 spyndles, at 

3d. per 100 spyndles 

12 yarn dressers, at 30s 

12 assistant yarn dressers, at 20s 

4 drawers-in, drawing in 542 beams holding each 8 cuts of 516 ends 108 yards long, 
at 20s 

4 givers-in, at 8s 

300 weavers, tending 2 looms each, turning off a total of 4,332 cuts a week, at 16kL 
per cut 



12 

.12 
14 

4 

2 

23 



£s.d. 
2 10 
2 10 
2 8 

4 12 
8 
8 14 

2 
24 10 
42 





15 

16 

17 
5 

31 10 
14 12 

3 12 

5 8 
31 4 

2 17 

1 19 

2 8 

1 16 

2 11 



15 
15 

81 6 

43 15 7 
18 
12 

4 
1 12 

297 16 6 



5*12. 17 

12.17 

11.68 

22.39 

38. 93 

42.34 

9.73 

119. 23 

204. 39 

58.40 

58.40 

68.13 

3.65 

23.36 

13.87 

113.15 

153. 29 

71.05 

17.52 

26.28 

151. 83 

13.87 

9.49 

11. 68 

8.76 

12.41 



6.08 
6.08 

395. 64 

213. 05 
87.60 
58.40 

19.47 
7.79 

1,449.36 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 



135 



Operatives. 



jute factory— continued. 

20 tenters, at 20s. per week, plus Ad. per shilling on the wages made by the weav 

ers 

4 croppers, at 24s 

4 assistant croppers, at 22s 

4 dampers, at 20s 

6 calenderers, at 26s 

12 assistant calenderers, at 24s 

2 manglers, at 28s 

2 assistant manglers, at 26s 

6 men at measuring machines, at 24s 

6 boys at measuring machines, at 16s 

4 men at sack cutting, at 22s 

4 boys at sack cutting, at 18s 

60 sack machinists, making piecework about 20s. each 

2 men at sack printer, at 21s 

8 men at hydraulic presses, 4 at 24s. and 4 at 21s 

GENERAL LABOR, MTLL AND FACTORY. 

1 engineer, at 50s. per week 

2 oilers and greasers, at 18s 

4 boiler-room men, at 20s 

1 head machinist, at 35s. per week 

3 assistant machinists, at 20s. per week 

4 yard and warehouse men, at 20s. per week 

Total, 1,008 operatives 



Weekly wages. 



English 


American 


currency. 


currency. 


£ s. d. 




32 8 2 


$157.72 


4 16 


23.36 


4 8 


21.41 


4 


19.46 


7 16 


37.96 


14 8 


70.08 


2 16 


13.03 


2 12 


12.65 


7 4 


35.04 


4 16 


23.36 


4 8 


21.41 


3 12 


17.52 


60 


291.99 


2 2 


10.22 


9 


43.80 


2 10 


12.17 


1 16 


8.76 


4 


19.47 


1 15 


8.52 


3 


14.60 


4 


19.47 



907 1 3 



4,414.23 



The preparation and spinning departments require 371 operatives 
and the weaving and finishing departments 552, which, with 15 men 
in the engine room, machine shop, yard, etc., makes a total of 938 
for only 8,496 spindles and 600 looms. This is several times the 
number required for a cotton factory with the same number of 
spindles and looms. With the 70 operatives required in the bag- 
making department, a total of 1,008 operatives is needed for the com- 
plete establishment. 

At Dundee there is no uniformity about wages, either by day or 
the piece, and in this, as well as in the number of operatives to a 
machine, great diversity prevails. For instance, instead of the 108 
spindles here shown tended by each weft spinner, many mills have 
only 72 spindles to the girl, while in some cases, usually with frames 
at a lower speed or a greater twist, each girl may be given as many 
as 141 weft spindles on such counts. The above figures, however, 
are given as representative of the better-managed factories that ob- 
tain the best class of help and the highest production by paying 
what in Dundee are considered full wages. 

COMMERCIAL QUOTATIONS. 



In buying and selling at Dundee jute is quoted per ton of 2,240 
pounds, fine yarns per spyndle of 14,400 yards, coarse yarns per 
pound and rove per ton, cloth per yard, and bags per hundred. In the 
table following are the Dundee quotations on the staple articles as 
shown in the Dundee Prices Current and Trade Report on the 1st day 
of January for the past 15 years. 



136 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 





Raw jute. 


Jute yarns. 


Jute cloth. 


Years. 


R. F. 
Block-D. 


First 
marks. 


Daisee. 


8-pound 

common 

cops. 


8-pound 

medium 

warp. 


24- 
pound 
sacking 
weft. 


Hessians. 


74-inch, 
10-por- 
ter, 
floor- 
cloth. 


45-inch, 
11-por- 




40-inch 

10§- 
ounce. 


40-inch 

8- 
ounce. 


t*r, 20- 
ounce 
tar- 
paulin. 


1899 

1900 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

1905 

1906 

1907....... 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1911 


£ s. 

14 5 

17 

15 10 

15 10 

16 10 
16 10 

18 15 
24 
37 
30 
30 
21 


£ s. 

12 15 

14 5 

13 

12 

13 10 

13 
16 
19 5 
26 10 

15 10 

14 5 
14 

19 15 

20 5 
26 


£ s. 

11 10 

13 10 

12 

11 

13 

12 15 

14 5 
18 5 
25 

15 10 

14 10 

13 15 

18 10 

19 
23 5 


s. d. 

1 2i 
1 5| 
1 6f 
1 3 
1 4* 
1 4A 
1 6 

1 10| 

2 11 
1 8 
1 5i 
1 5| 
1 8| 

1 lOf 

2 7J 


s. d. 
1 3J 
1 6f 
1 7J 
1 4| 
1 6 
1 5i 

1 7 

2 0| 

3 
1 10| 
1 7f 
1 6| 
1 10 

1 H| 

2 9 


d. 

x 16 

1£ 
1-3- 

m 
if 

2^ 

2f 

2 

1£ 

m 

2 
2| 

2H 


d. 

m 

2J 
2 

118 

Its 

113 
ITS 

1| 

2^ 
2^ 
2| 
2 

1ft 

2if 
3| 


d. 

i f 
its 

-■•16 
1 7 

1 8 

1 8 

13 

lis 

2H 
2f 

IIS 
±T5 

137 
X T8 
14T 

X 4l 

o? 

^ft 

9*4 


d. 

Mr 

2i 
9 i 

l a 

•■■4 
1 7 

lio 

x 12 
2fr 

2i 
3i 
2| 
2 

1« 

2i 

Ol6 

°8 


d. 
3§ 

4^ 

3f 

3f 

3| 

2| 

3| 

4f 

5| 

4A 

3*i 

O 9 

4-i- 


1912 




4A 


1913. 









As RF Block-D is high-grade jute, of which there is little left by 
the 1st of January, the trade paper ceased quoting it on the 1st of 
January, 1910. The " First Marks " of the best shippers, though 
lower than the RF Block-D range of marks, is also high-class jute 
and is used for the better grade of goods. Ordinary hessian (burlap) 
is now largely made of Daisee jute, which is numbered 1, 2, and 3, 
or an equivalent in letters. When something in the Daisee crop is 
too low for packing in the bales marked Daisee Threes, it is reserved 
and packed in bales described in Calcutta as Daisee Fours, which, 
in Dundee are usually called Daisee X Threes or Daisee Cross Threes. 
The quotations above are on Daisee Twos. 



CHANGES PROPOSED IN QUOTATIONS. 

Yarn and cloth have always been quoted on the Dundee jute ex- 
change in vulgar fractions — halves, quarters, eighths, sixteenths, and 
forty-eighths of a penn}^. At its meeting in January, 1911, the Dun- 
dee Chamber of Commerce came to the conclusion that this system 
was too antiquated and cumbersome to be retained in modern com- 
merce, and the trade was circularized as to its wishes in the matter. 
It was proposed that the vulgar fractions be superseded by two-place 
decimals and, furthermore, that jute cloth should be quoted per ounce 
and jute yarns per pound. A proposition was also made that Dundee 
should quote hessians on the Calcutta system of the hundred yards 
instead of the present system of the yard. In regard to substituting 
decimals for fractions of pence, the replies showed that, though some 
were rather violently opposed to any change from the time-honored 
system and some were indifferent, the great majority were in favor 
of the labor-saving reform and would prefer to quote in decimals. 
Quotations are sometimes now given in both decimals and vulgar 
fractions, but in spite of the trend in its favor the vulgar fractions up 
to forty-eighths are still most used. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 



137 



MARGIN BETWEEN RAW MATERIAL AND FINISHED PRODUCT. 

Raw jute is quoted in pounds and shillings per ton of 2,240 pounds, 
yarn in shillings and pence per spyndle of 14,400 yards, and cloth in 
pence per yard; hence it is difficult from the quotations to gain any 
idea of the margin between them. In the following table I have 
reduced the prices for raw jute and for the standard 10^-ounce, 40- 
inch hessian to cents per pound, to show what margin there is between 
the raw material and the finished product : 





Price per pound. 


Margin, 
jute to 
cloth. 


Years. 


Raw jute, 
Daisee 2. 


lOi-ounee, 
40-inch 
hessian. 


1899 


Cents. 
2.464 
2.892 
2.572 
2.356 
2.786 
2.732 
3.054 
3.910 
5.358 
3.322 
3.108 
2.946 
3.964 
4.072 
4.982 


Cents. 
5.142 
6.476 
6.096 
5.334 
5.524 
5.524 
5.714 
7.048 
6.666 

10. 286 
6.096 
5.842 
6.476 
7.110 

10. 286 


Cents. 
2.678 


1900 


3.584 


1901 


3.524 


1902 


2.978 


1903 


2.738 


1904 


2.792 


1905 


2.660 


1906 


3.138 


1907 


1.308 


1908 


2.964 


1909 


2.988 


1910 


2.896 


1911 


2. 512 


1912 


3.038 


1913 


5.304 







Each January price reflects to some extent the margin obtaining 
during the latter part of the previous year and the foregoing table 
brings out clearly the comparatively large margins during the boom 
years of 1907 and 1912, while the latter part of 1906 and 1910 were 
evidently periods of great depression. 

CONSTRUCTION OF VARIOUS JUTE GOODS. 

Most jute cloths are woven plain or in simple twills. The four 
chief makes of jute cloths are hessians, baggings, sackings, and tar- 
paulins. In addition to these, which beside other uses provide prac- 
tically all the material for the various kinds of bags, a large amount 
of wide cloth is made for the foundation of linoleums and other kinds 
of floorcloths and a fair amount of the ordinary widths is dyed in 
art shades and used for wall decoration. There is also a substantial 
trade in paddings, in plain and fancy stair carpeting, and in Brussels, 
Wilton, Axminster, and other kinds of carpets. 



138 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



HESSIAN OR BURLAP. 



The following are the ordinary constructions of some of the chief 
hessians, finishing 40 inches wide, as shown in a table printed by 



William Leggatt, of Dundee : 



Porter. 



















-d 

CD 




fl 


a 


T3 
<2 










£ 






,3 
O 




ft 


«4-H 


>> 










o 
o 






03 




03 


£ 


CD 

ft 

co 

CD 
O 

c 




ft 
03 

s 


CD 
W 

o 
A 


■d 


a 

o 

a 

+^ 

o 
O 


o 

O 


Pi 

5a 

CD 

N 

33 


ft 

(H 

CD 
>» 
ft 


CD 

CD 
tS) 

m 


CD 


O 3 
O 

'5! 




In. 






y*». 


Yds. 


ya». 


i&s. 


£&*. 


Lbs. 


i6s. 


£&*. 


6 


40 


380 


9* 


108 


106 


107 


7 


71 

<2 


6* 


21* 


19 


6* 


40 


400 


9 


108 


106 


107 


7 


71 
<2 


7 


22* 


21 


7 


40 


420 


10 


108 


105 


106 


7 


7* 


71 


22* 


24i 


71 


40 


420 


10 


108 


105 


106 


8 


8* 


7 


27 


23 


8 


40 


420 


11 


108 


104 


106 


8 


8* 


7* 


27 


26* 


8 


*40 


468 


11 


108 


104 


106 


7 


7* 


7* 


30 


26* 


8* 


40 


468 


11 


108 


104 


106 


8 


8* 


7* 


30 


26* 


9 


40 


468 


11 


108 


103 


106 


8 


8* 


8 


30 


29* 


9* 


40 


468 


12 


108 


103 


105^ 


8 


8* 


8* 


30 


32i 


10 


40 


468 


13 


108 


103 


105* 


8 


8* 


8* 


30 


36 


10* 


40 


516 


13 


108 


102 


105 


8 


8* 


8* 


33 


*36 


11 


40 


516 


13 


108 


102 


105 


8 


8* 


9if 


33 


39* 


Hi 


40 


516 


13 


108 


101 


105 


8 


8* 


10* 


33 


42* 


12 


40 


516 


13 


108 


100 


105 


8 


8* 


11* 


33 


46 


12* 


40 


516 


13 


108 


100 


104 


8 


8* 


12 


33 


49 


13 


40 


516 


13 


108 


100 


104 


8 


8* 


13i 


33 


52 


13* 


40 


516 


13 


108 


99 


104 


8 


8* 


13f 


33 


55 


14 


40 


516 


13 


108 


99 


104 


8 


81 


141 


33 


58 



«ri 



9. 
9. 
9. 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 



Lbs. 

40* 

43* 

47 

50 

53* 

56* 

56* 

59* 

62i 

66 

69 

72* 

75* 

79 

82 

85 

88 

91 



The foregoing table gives an idea. of the relation of various makes 
of hessians to each other, but different firms attain the same result in 
different ways. For instance, on the 11-porter, 10^-ounce standard 
hessian above given, Leggatt shows the use of 8J pounds per spyndle 
weft where many firms use 8J pounds per spyndle; similarly, he 
shows the use of 8 pounds per spyndle warp sized up to 8-J pounds, 
whereas in the majority of mills it is more customary to use 8 \ 
pounds sized up to 9 pounds per spyndle warp. The shots weft per 
inch shown above are the shots in the finished cloth, and owing to 
the stretch in finishing the actual shots per inch inserted on the loom 
will be somewhat larger. As a rule, it is better to make cloth for 12 
ounces, 40 inches, and upward, say, to 16 ounces, 40 inches, with 9 
pounds per spyndle warp, as it fills up better in the finishing and the 
extra strength in the warp is a help to the weaver, especially if the 
looms work fast, say, 145 to 150 picks per minute. 

Hessian is the most widely manufactured of all jute fabrics and is 
used for a great variety of purposes; it is always made of single 
yarns and plain woven. As shown in the table, the usual width is 
40 inches and the usual extremes of weight are 6 ounces and 14 ounces 
per yard. In most cases no variation is made in the set of the 
fabric, nor in the count of the warp, for an increase in weight above 
10J ounces, this being obtained by simply changing the weft; below 
10J ounces per yard it is usua»l to alter the set as well as the yarn 
counts. 

Mangled hessian is a fabric similar to the ordinary hessian, but 
differently finished to give it a smoother and more glazed appear- 
ance. In some cases the same yarns are used and the only difference 
is in the finishing, but in other cases higher quality material is used. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 139 

TARPAULIN. 

Tarpaulin is a plain fabric made with taped warp, usually called 
D. W., or double warp, in the jute trade; that is, two warp ends are 
drawn in and woven side by side as one end. The standard width is 
the 45-inch, prices being usually based on a 45-inch, 10-porter, 20-ounce 
per yard D. W. tarpaulin, with 12^ shots per inch finished. Such 
cloth would be spaced 48 inches wide in the reed to finish 40 inches, 
and the laid length would be 108 yards to finish 103 yards. It would 
require about 14 pounds per spyndle weft, and warp 8^ pounds dry 
or 9 pounds per spyndle dressed. Tarpaulins are waterproofed by 
applying a thin coating of boiled tar. Formerly most tarpaulins 
were made of hemp or coarse flax, but the comparative lightness, 
toughness, and cheapness of jute have given it the preference for such 
goods. For general purposes the tar is painted over only one side, 
but heavy tarpaulins are sometimes coated on both surfaces. The 
tar must be applied as hot as possible, and it is advantageous to have 
the canvas heated over a metal plate kept warm with steam or metal 
heaters. The fabric is wound tightly on a large roller and the por- 
tion under treatment is pulled over the hot plate. The tar is dis- 
charged over a pair of small rolls that serve as spreading rolls, or it 
may be painted on to the stretched fabric by two workmen, one on 
each side of the sheet, who apply a thin coating over half the width 
of the fabric. They hold a brush in one hand and a flat rule in the 
other to strike off the superfluous tar and distribute the layer more 
evenly over the surface. As soon as the tarpaulin is coated it is 
hung up for some time in a well- ventilated shed in order that cer- 
tain of the volatile matters may be given off and the material lose 
its pungent smell. After seasoning it may be rolled up or folded 
for use, but it is dangerous to fold together freshly made tarpaulins, 
as in this condition they are liable to heat and might even occasion 
spontaneous combustion. The coating with tar is usually carried on 
separately by an outside firm. 

BAGGING AND SACKING. 

D. W. bagging is a double-warp plain fabric, but of a different 
class from tarpaulins, as the set is usually much coarser and the 
count of the weft heavier. The standard width is generally taken as 
44 inches. A common D. W. bagging is made T-porter, 44-inch, 24- 
ounce per yard, 9 shots per inch finished, of 8J pounds per spyndle 
undressed and 38 pounds per spyndle weft. The laid length is 108 
yards to finish 102 yards and the reed width 46J inches to finish 44 
inches, the bagging being used in the condition in which it comes 
from the loom. The jute bagging for covering cotton bales, usually 
called cotton bagging in the South, is ordinarily 32 ounces per yard, 
44 inches wide, and the yarns are mainly made of jute butts or cut- 
tings (the woody and hard root ends of the jute plant), which ordi- 
narily cost only about 1 cent a pound. Each bale of cotton requires 
an average of 6J yards of bagging, and the total American crop re- 
quires nearly a hundred million yards of bagging annually. Dundee, 
however, obtains a comparatively small proportion of this trade, as 
the manufacture of jute bagging in the United States is sufficient for 
the ordinary crop. This is not the case with burlap, of which the 
United States manufactures little and imports immense quantities. 



140 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTEIES. 



Twilled sacking is a double-warp fabric, woven with the regular 
three-leaf twill, two up one down, and having three double or six 
single threads of warp per split in the reed. Prices are usually based 
on the 27-inch width, 8 porter, 16 ounces per yard. 

BAG MANUFACTURE AND TRADE. 

Jute is the material used in making the bulk of the world's bags 
and sacks, and this is a very important trade at Dundee. How- 
ever, owing to the overshadowing manufacture of bags at Calcutta, 
Dundee has never been able to attain again the record made in 
1881. Elsewhere are given statistics as to the number and value 
of bags exported from Dundee to various countries, showing a total 
export in 1912 of nearly 50,000,000 bags in addition to the quantity 
used at home. Part of these bags are made by the mills and part by 
separate firms. Most of the bags and sacks are sewn by machine, 
but for some purposes the hand sewn is preferred. Part of these 
are given out to home workers, and it is a common sight in Dundee 
to see a woman carrying to the factory a 60-pound bundle of sacks 
she has sewn. Such work is done by the very poorest class, and the 
remuneration is so small that only by hard work can they make as 
much as a shilling (24.3 cents) a day. On the other hand, women at 
the factory who sew the burlap, after it is cut up by hand or machine, 
into sacks, using either a straight or overlock sewing machine, make 
higher wages than women in either the mill or the factory, and aver- 
age about 20s. ($4.87) a week. Some expert " sack machinists," as 
they are called, make up to 30s. ($7.30) a week. 

Bags and sacks are used for many purposes, and many different 
sizes are made from cloths of constructions and weights that vary 
according to the purpose for which required. The following is a 
partial description of some of the types of bags most largely made 
at Dundee : 



Kinds. 


Size. 


Weight. 


Cloth. 


Porter. 


Pounds per spyndle. 


Warp. 


Weft. 


Buenos Aires grain 
bags. 


Inches. 
224 by 40 

30 by 60 
22 by 36 
28 by 56 
18 by 27 

26 by 48 

28 by 48 

29 by 48 

27 by 49 
26 by 45 

224 by 40 
20 by 40 

28 by 56 
20 by 30 

* 16 by 24 
24 by 40 

44 by 264 

18 by 27 

22 by 51 

27 by 27 by 54 

27 by 27 by 54 

45 by 85 


Pounds. 

!124 

34 and 5 

112 

24 

24 
24 
24 
14 
If 
112 

4 

14 

1 14 

x 134 

2f 

H 

3J 

5, 8, and 10 

84 
3 and 3\ 


Plain 


10 

6 
10 

7 
8 


8 


8 


D.W. twill 

Plain 






8 


8 


D. W. flour bags 


D.W. twill 

Plain 




Sugar pockets 

Sugar bags 






do." 






Twilled sugar bags . . 
Cuban sugar bags. . . 
Bran bags. 


Twill 








do 


7 
8 
6 
9 
10 
10 
8 


10 




Plain 




D. W. salt bags 

Onion pockets 

Seed bags . 


D.W. twill 

Plain 






8 
8 
9 
9 


8 


do 


8 


Railway sacks 

Twilled ore pockets. . 
Nail bags 


Twill 


28 


do 


36 






Manure bags 


Plain 


10 

8 

8 
10 
8 
8 
9 


8 
10 

10 

8 

10 

10 

9 


8 


Twill 


30 


sacks. 
Ore bags 


D.W. twill..; 

do 


34 


Cement bags 

Wool packs . . 


18 


do 


45 


Cape wool packs 

Cotton packs 


..do 


36 


Plain 


10 









1 Ounces. 



JUTE INDUSTKY IN SCOTLAND. 141 

FLOORCLOTH MANUFACTURE AND TRADE. 

Oil floor coverings are made by applying some composition of lin- 
seed oil to a textile foundation. The foundation material is usually 
wide widths of jute hessians, and the best known variety of floor- 
cloths so made is called linoleum. This was originally the invention 
of Frederick Walton, who coined the word descriptive thereof from 
linum (flax) and oleum (oil), since the new material had for its 
basis a solidified linseed oil. In 1864 Walton founded at Staines, in 
England, the first linoleum factory ever built, which was later ac- 
quired by the Linoleum Manufacturing Co. (Ltd.), of which Walton 
was for long the managing director. The manufacture of floorcloth 
has now become a vast industry, with Great Britain, Germany, and 
the United States the chief countries engaged therein. The center of 
this industry in Scotland is Kirkcaldy, though there are also mills at 
Dundee, Newburgh, and Falkland. 

FLOOR OILCLOTH. 

Floor oilcloth is composed of a foundation of jute burlap, which, 
after being sized and rubbed smooth and even, is covered with a 
mixture of ochre, linseed, and benzine. The surplus material is 
scraped off by revolving metal blades, and when dry the coating is 
rubbed smooth with pumice stone. The coating and rubbing are re- 
peated until the desired thickness is attained. The printing of the 
pattern on the coated fabric was formerly done entirely by hand, but 
machine printing is now customary. In printing by machinery the 
cloth passes over a flat table and under wooden blocks which have a 
rising and falling motion. The pattern is carved on the wooden 
blocks and a separate block is required for each color. The color is 
applied to the block, when in the raised position, by means of a 
roller. After printing and drying, the surface is varnished and the 
cloth trimmed and rolled up ready for the market. 

LINOLEUM. 

Linoleum is composed of a foundation of jute burlap, on which 
is fastened evenly and thoroughly a cement composed of solidified 
linseed oil mixed with cork, kauri gum, resin, and pigments of vari- 
ous kinds. The cork used is the waste from the manufacture of 
bottle corks ground up into dust. 

In making linoleum the chief problem is to solidify the linseed oil. 
Walton solved this by suspending immense sheets of very thin cotton 
scrim from the roofs of extensive sheds, in which a temperature of 
about 100° F. was maintained, and the oil after being boiled was 
permitted to trickle down the surface of the scrim. It was then 
pumped up to the top and so used over and over again until a thick 
coating of the oxidized oil, then called a skin, had become deposited. 
The whole mass of oil and scrim was then ground up by machin- 
ery, the oxidized oil so produced being melted in steam-heated 
pans with kauri and other resins, the whole forming a substance in 
the nature of an india-rubber substitute. After the addition and 
thorough incorporation of powdered cork and coloring matter, it 
was spread in uniform thicknesses over sheets of prepared jute 



142 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

backing. A more expeditious process for oxidizing the oil is now 
largely used by causing thin streams of the boiled linseed oil to 
fall to a tank from a considerable height, this operation being 
repeated over and over again until the oil becomes thick enough 
for further treatment, during which it is passed through other ma- 
chines and finally obtained in the form of a gelatinous mass. Be- 
fore it is ready for use, linoleum has to be seasoned, or matured, 
by being subjected for some weeks to a moderate heat in stoves kept 
at a uniform temperature. In the course of this operation certain of 
the volatile ingredients are evaporated and the oxidization of the oil 
is completed and the linoleum fully indurated. 

If the linoleum is to be plain, that is, of a uniform color, the 
coloring matter is added to the mixture before it is rolled on the 
burlap. If the linoleum is to bear a pattern, this is printed on the 
surface by means similar to that employed in printing floor oilcloths. 
In mosaic, or inlaid, goods the colors go through to the back of the 
cloth, and with linoleum so made there is no possibility of the colors 
wearing away and becoming shabby. Inlaid linoleum is made in 
various ways, there being special patented processes. In general, 
however, the process consists of cutting rolls of linoleum cement of 
various colors into separate pieces by disks and then rolling them 
into place on the burlap backing with hot rollers. This is done by 
machinery, and as knife-edged cutters, or punches, of the requisite 
shape separate from the different colored rolls the pieces required 
to form the selected pattern, plungers actuated by cams force them 
from the cutter and attach them by needle points to an endless band, 
which carries them forward to the inlaying machine. This consists 
of a large drum, or cylinder, of metal some 12 feet in diameter, 
on wlflch the pieces forming the pattern are automatically assembled 
in their relative positions by the machine, the linoleum being attached 
to the jute backing by means of cement and the whole passed be- 
tween heavy rollers. Walton originally called this new material 
mosaic linoleum. After drying, the backing is treated with a prepa- 
ration of resin and other ingredients to make it waterproof. In 
some processes the different colored linoleum cements ground into 
powder are dropped on the backing in the desired arrangement, and 
the powdered covering is then subjected to heavy pressure from a 
heated plate until it is completely fused and firmly attached to the 
backing. 

GRANITE LINOLEUM. 

Besides the plain, printed, and inlaid linoleum described, there 
are two others. Granite linoleum is made with pastes containing 
masses or spots of different colors. The colors remain separate in 
the completed fabric, but the assemblage and relation of these 
variously colored spots and masses are casual. Plank linoleums, oak 
plank linoleums, or plank inlaid linoleums are made by running 
upon the burlap paste of two colors in equal stripes, the materials 
being kept from mixing and the effect somewhat resembling a floor 
inlaid with alternate planks of different woods. The pastes are 
pressed into and firmly united with the cloth by hot rollers. In some 
cases the pattern is painted on with the aid of stencils instead of 
by printing rollers. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN SCOTLAND. 143 

CORTICENE, KAMPTULICAN, AND LIGNITECT. 

Corticene is prepared in a manner somewhat similar to linoleum, 
but the linseed oil is oxidized differently and rubber is also usually 
employed in the composition. Cork carpet, or Kamptulican, resembles 
plain linoleum and is made in the same manner, except that the cork 
used is not ground so finely and in the mixture of linseed oil, ground 
cork, and other materials the proportion of cork is larger and the 
result is a softer, more spongelike substance. Lignitect is a fabric 
resembling linoleum, except that ground wood is used in place of 
ground cork, the woods most commonly used being white poplar and 
horse chestnut. 

In all of these floor coverings the basis is wide widths of jute 
fabric, and at both Dundee and Calcutta a steadily increasing num- 
ber of looms have been put on such goods. 

JUTE SUBSTITUTES. 

While jute is the cheapest of all the principal textile materials now 
in use, it is very perishable in its nature, and attempts have been 
made to find substitutes that will either be cheaper or else almost 
as cheap and more durable. Jute fiber is weak and decays easily, 
especially if exposed to moisture, and it holds its position as the wrap- 
ping material of the world because of its cheap production and the 
ease with which it can be worked with the machinery. It is by no 
means the highest representative of its class, and attempts have 
been made from time to time to get growers and manufacturers to 
try other fibers of India that can, it is claimed, be grown just as 
easily and over a wider area. Possibly something may come of such 
experiments, but unless grown on a large scale, such fibers can not 
compete with jute in price, and the ryots who now cultivate jute 
are not looking for substitutes. 

BOMBAY HEMP SEAWEED. 

The only Indian fiber now competing with jute at all is the Madras 
Presidency Hibiscus cannabinus^ commonly called Bimlipatan jute 
or Bombay hemp. It is quite similar to jute, and though the bulk 
of it is used in a mill at Madras, occasional shipments are made to 
Dundee, where it is used for mixing with jute proper. It is improb- 
able that Madras can compete with Bengal to any large extent, 
though in the future there may be a fair development of this fiber. 

Periodically one sees reports as to new competitors of jute, which 
are exploited to a certain extent and then drop out of view. For 
instance, in 1910 English textile and trade papers took quite an 
interest in the rumored exploitation of a seaweed called Poseidonia 
australis. This fiber is the accumulation of centuries of a marine 
plant, and it is claimed there is a 9-foot depth of it located under 
the sea in Spencer Gulf, South Australia. A company prospectus was 
issued to raise capital for its working, with claims that it could be 
put on the market much more cheaply than jute and would be a 
formidable competitor, but Dundee manufacturers state that the sam- 
ples show a short fiber and they see little possibility of its use. 



144 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

PAPER YARNS. 

Paper yarns have been experimented with in Germany for some 
time with a view to making them an effective substitute for jute. 
Partial success at least seems to have been achieved by the invention 
of textilose, which is a paper yarn coated with a textile material, and 
it may possibly in time occupy somewhat the same relation to the 
jute trade that artificial silk does to the silk trade. The first. paper 
yarns, such as "xylodine," "syl valine," and "licella," were manu- 
factured of paper strips, which were then twisted into yarns by flyers ;, 
but they were not nearly so strong as jute and not so durable if ex- 
posed to the action of the elements. Though of use for some pur- 
poses they were a failure for bags, even with the use of jute warps, 
as they could not stand moisture. 

In recent years, however, M. E. Claviez, of Germany, claims to have 
solved the problem with the invention of textilose, which is a paper 
thread reenforced by a core of textile fibers, thus forming what is 
really a core yarn. The paper used, of which the composition is 
secret, is very uniform and strong. In the manufacture of this yarn 
a roll of paper of the desired width is passed though an adhesive 
material, and then a web of fibrous material, usually cotton fly or 
napping waste, is run on the glued surf ace of the paper, and the two 
are compressed by rollers. Sometimes only one side is coated and 
sometimes both, in the ]atter case a different textile material being 
used for each side. The coated paper passes over drying cylinders 
and is wound into a roll. The sheet is cut into strips varying in 
width according to the size of yarn desired, the cutting being effected 
by parallel shafts carrying conical steel disks. The strips are wound 
on spools, which are delivered to a flyer spinning frame, similar to 
that used in the jute trade but without any drawing rollers, and are 
then twisted and wound on bobbins by means of the flyers. Usually 
the textilose yarn contains about 10 per cent of Cotton waste, which 
gives it strength and makes it more resistant to moisture. 

It is claimed for this yarn that it is cheaper, stronger, and more 
durable than jute and that textilose fabrics can even be Avashed, 
bleached, and colored. It is smoother than jute and less easily af- 
fected by acids, and fabrics made of it would be very suitable for 
wool packs and for sacks for cement, flour, nitrates, etc. Textilose 
yarns are also being used for upholstery, curtains, carpet backing, etc. 
The manufacture seems to be a success and is expanding rapidly, as 
there are now textilose mills in Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, 
Italy, and the United States. A mill is about to be started in England 
and others in Spain and Brazil. Textilose has been in use such a 
short while that it has not yet passed the experimental stage, but it 
seems to be the most formidable competitor of jute that has yet 
appeared. 



HEMP INDUSTRY IN UNITED KINGDOM. 

The term hemp is more loosely applied than any other in fiber 
terminology. The true hemp, Cannabis sativa, is often called soft 
hemp or European hemp to distinguish it from other fibers, such as 
manila hemp, aloe fiber, pita, henequen, sisal, Mauritius hemp, and 
New Zealand hemp. Soft hemp is a stem, or bast, fiber and is ob- 
tained by retting, or rotting, in water to dissolve and decompose the 
gummy matter that binds the fiber to the stem ; it is grown from the 
seed*. The hard fibers, on the other hand, are obtained from the 
leaves of plants and the filaments are covered with succulent pulp 
that can be removed only by scraping or decortication, as it is called, 
to leave the useful fiber bare for working; they are usually propa- 
gated from cuttings. 

IMPORTS OF HEMP FIBERS. 

English statistics, which differ from the American, do not separate 
the imports of soft hemp from those of the various hard fibers, class- 
ing all cordage fibers indiscriminately under the general heading of 
hemp. Imports of this class into the United Kingdom in 1912 were 
as follows: 





Countries. 


Tons. 


Value. 


Dressed and undressed hemp: 

Philippine Islands 


83,313 

16, 780 

14,238 

13, 764 

7,881 

3,034 

5,609 


$9, 686, 676 
1,788,040 
1,453,370 
2,232,517 
1,664,786 


New Zealand 


British East Indies 


Russia 


Italy 


Germany 


447, 874 


All other countries 


707,063 






Total 


144,619 


17,980,326 






Hemp tow, or codilla: 

Russia 


2,662 

2,104 

887 


295, 674 

135,308 

89, 826 


New Zealand 


All other countries ' 






Total 


5,653 


520,808 





The sources from which the imports come show that most of the 
imports so classed are not true hemp. For instance, that from the 
Philippine Islands is undoubtedly abaca, or manila hemp ; that from 
New Zealand is New Zealand hemp, or Phormium tenax; that from 
India is mainly Sunn hemp, or Crotalaria juncea; while that shown 
as coming from all other countries would include henequen, sisal, and 
other fibers. In addition to the foregoing, British statistics show an 
import of "Hemp (unenumerated vegetable substances applicable to 
the same use as hemp or flax)," amounting in 1912 to 6,017 tons, 
valued at $461,991, and this probably includes ramie and similar 
fibers. 






13002°— No.74— 13- 



-10 



145 



146 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

SOURCES OF SOFT HEMP. 

Owing to the manner in which the fibers are lumped in the statis- 
tics it is impossible to ascertain the amount of soft hemp used in the 
United Kingdom, but an estimate could be made by taking the im- 
ports from Russia, Germany, and Italy. Most of the soft hemp 
coming from Germany is really Russian hemp shipped through Ger- 
man ports. Russia supplies the great bulk of the soft hemp used in 
the United Kingdom, but the finest and most valuable grades come 
from Italy. At one time a fair amount of soft hemp was raised in 
England in the alluvial districts of Lincolnshire, in Suffolk, and 
around Holderness, and also some in Ireland, but this industry has 
now disappeared and the entire supply is imported. 

The rope works are located mainly at the seaports, and the hemp 
imported is landed at London, Leith, Belfast, Liverpool, etc. 

The best varieties of hemp are creamy white in color, lustrous,. soft, 
and pliable. When carefully cultivated, prepared, and manufactured 
the fiber forms a satisfactory substitute for flax and, except for the 
finer linens, can be employed for the medium grades of nearly all 
goods made from flax. Some hemp is hackled and used in the linen 
trade of Belfast in making certain goods, but the total is not large. 
Some hemp yarns are used in the coarse end of the linen trade of 
Scotland, either alone or in conjunction with linen yarns. The Brit- 
ish Navy still requires a certain amount of hemp canvas nnd a fair 
amount is also used in making coal sacks, for which it is very useful 
because of its strength and greater durability (in England 'coal is 
usually delivered in sacks instead of loose from the cart), and for 
other sacks intended to hold very heavy materials. 

SPINDLES WORKING ON HEMP. 

The British Board of Trade showed 41,724 spinning spindles, 
11,949 doubling spindles, and 516 looms for 1890 and 33,747 spinning 
spindles, 11,691 doubling spindles, and 88 looms for 1905, working 
on hemp. 

Though some hemp is spun and woven the great bulk of it goes to 
the rope works and is used for cables, rope, and smaller cordage; in 
fact, the bulk of the hemp imported is too harsh and coarse for any 
other use. Soft hemp makes the strongest ropes, those produced from 
the better grades having a breaking strength superior to that of 
ordinary manila rope. Tarring is resorted to as a preventive of 
decay but causes a loss of strength ; an untarred rope will hold about 
a third greater weight. In addition to rope, hemp is used for quite 
a variety of purposes in the cordage trade, such as making brown 
hemp yarn for saddlers' and shoemakers' use, seaming twine, ordinary 
shop twine, and netting twine. 

The Belfast Ropework Co. (Ltd.), of Belfast, claims to be the 
largest rope and cable works in the world and uses considerable soft 
hemp as well as hard fibers. The works cover an area of 30 acres, 
using over 5,000 horsepower and employing over 3,000 operatives. 
The capital of this concern is £500,000, divided into 10,000 preference 
shares of £10 each and 4,000 common shares of £10 each, 85 per cent 
of which is paid-up capital. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN INDIA. 

WORLD'S CONSUMPTION OF JUTE. 

Jute is unique among the textile fibers of the world in that its pro- 
duction is the exclusive monopoly of one country and also in that 
over half the crop is consumed in factories in the same section of the 
country in which it is grown. 

The growing of jute has always been a monopoly of the northeast 
section of India ; but for a score of years after machinery was adapted 
to its working, Scotland had a monopoly of its manufacture. To-day 
India manufactures half of its own crop, and Scotland, though sec- 
ond, manufactures only a little over an eighth of the total. Other 
large jute-manufacturing countries are Germany, France, United 
States, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Kussia, and new jute mills are 
being built and old ones enlarged in many other countries. 

Jute is a sacking and wrapping material, and its growth on a com- 
mercial scale and its manufacture by machinery came in response to 
a demand created in the nineteenth century for some material to 
cover, during their transfer from the field to the market, the rapidly 
increasing crops of the world. That the utilization of jute was a 
necessity can be shown by statistics of the increase in crops in the last 
hundred years and by the fact that the population of the world in- 
creased from 500,000,000 in 1800 to 1,600,000,000 in 1900. The increase 
in the demand for jute, the only material yet produced in the quan- 
tity and at the price required, to cover the transport of the crops 
necessary for the subsistence and clothing of this growing population, 
foreshadows higher prices and still larger crops of the fiber. Already 
the demand so tends to outrun the supply that strenuous efforts are 
being made to find a substitute, either natural or artificial; but jute 
can be manufactured as well as produced, especially if some of the 
numerous middlemen are eliminated, at a price so low that it will be 
a long time before any substitute, however meritorious, can succeed 
as an active competitor or be more than an auxiliary to eke out an in- 
sufficient crop. 

TRADE ESTIMATE OF WORLD'S CONSUMPTION. 

Elsewhere 'in this report is shown the production of jute as offi- 
cially stated by the Indian Government, also the amount taken by 
various countries, but the latter figures are not conclusive, as con- 
siderable jute is transshipped from one country to another. Accord- 
ing to the yearly estimates published by W. F. Soutar & Co., jute 
merchants of Dundee, the jute consumption of the various sections 

147 



148 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



of the world for certain years has been as follows in bales of 400 
pounds : 



Consumers. 


1874 


1884 


1894 


1904 


1912 


Indian mills 


460,000 
500,000 
300,000 
1,000,000 
300,000 


900,000 
500,000 
650,000 
1,200,000 
500,000 


1,500,000 

500,000 

1, 100, 000 

1,200,000 

500,000 


2,900,000 

500,000 

1,800,000 

1,200,000 

500,000 


4,400,000 


Local Indian 


500,000 


Continental Europe 


2,610,000 


United Kingdom 


1,345,000 


America and other countries 


600,000 






Total 


2,560,000 


3,750,000 


4,800,000 


6,900,000 


9,455,000 





The above table shows a marvelous increase in the consumption 
of jute in India and a very large increase in its use on the Continent, 
while the growth in its manufacture in the United Kingdom and 
in all other countries, including the United States, has been small. 
Not only has the increase in the amount manufactured in India 
been very large, but the present rate of increase is greater than at 
almost any other time, and the day does not seem far distant when 
three- fourths of this crop will be exported from India in the manu- 
factured state. The local Indian consumption, the jute used out- 
side of the mills in India, has for a long time been conventionally 
estimated as about 500,000 bales, but some authorities now regard 
this as incorrect and state that not over 300,000 bales are now con- 
sumed outside of the mills, as such consumption has been much re- 
stricted by the wider use of mill-made goods and by the substitution 
of corrugated iron for the rough handmade jute goods formerly used 
in the construction of the primitive native huts. 

ESTIMATE OF CONSUMPTION DURING PRESENT YEAR. 

W. F. Soutar & Co. estimate that the world's consumption of jute 
during the season of 1912-13 will be as follows : 



Countries. 



United Kingdom: 

Scotland 

Ireland 

England 

Total. 

Continent: 

Germany 

France 

Austria-Hungary 

Italy 

Russia 

Belgium 

Spain 



Bales. 



1,300,000 
25,000 
20,000 



1,345,000 



800,000 
620,000 
320,000 
250,000 
230,000 
150,000 
150,000 



Countries. 



Continent — Continued. 

Norway and Sweden 

Netherlands 

Total 

America and other countries 

India: 

Mills 

Local 

Total 

Grand total 



Bales. 



60,000 
30,000 



2,610,000 



600,000 



4,400,000 
500,000 



4,900,000 



9,455,000 



GROWING AND MARKETING OF JUTE. 

The world's jute is grown in the Provinces of Bengal and Assam 
in northeast India, in the vast delta formed by the Brahmaputra and 
Ganges Eivers. The Ganges flows southeast through Bengal and emp- 
ties through numerous mouths into the Bay of Bengal. The Bran- 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN INDIA. 149 

maputra flows west through Assam until it reaches the borders of 
Bengal, where it turns southward to join the main channel of the 
Ganges. Part of the jute crop is grown south of the Ganges, around 
Calcutta, but the great bulk of the crop is produced to the north and 
east of this river and in the section drained, and at times inundated, 
by the Brahmaputra. The crop is mainly grown in the eastern part 
of Bengal, with a smaller part in the southern part of Bengal and a 
still smaller part in Assam. 

In 1905 Eastern Bengal and Assam were formed into a lieutenant 
governorship, but the partitioning of the ancient Proyince of Bengal 
caused so much dissatisfaction among the natives that in 1913 the two 
sections of Bengal were once more united and Assam was again made 
a separate province. The section in which jute is raised in eastern 
Bengal and Assam is about the same size and has about the same 
population as the United Kingdom. 

STRUCTURE OF PLANT PRODUCING JUTE FIBER. 

Jute is the bast fiber of the Corchorus. There are two main spec- 
ies, Corchorus capsularis and Corchorus olitorius, which do not vary 
greatly in their characteristics, though it is usually considered that the 
best fiber is produced from the Corchorus olitorius. The jute plant 
is an annual, growing 5 to 10 feet in height, though sometimes reach- 
ing 15 feet or more. The stem is straight and smooth and at the bot- 
tom is about as thick as one's finger. The commercial fiber lies in the 
skin which surrounds the inner core, or boon, and which in turn is 
covered with a pulpy coating. It is a bast, or stem, fiber, like flax and 
hemp, but is much more easily retted and separated from the boon 
and the outer skin. Jute fiber is more woody in its nature and has 
much less strength and tenacity than either flax or hemp, and is one 
of the most perishable of all fibers, especially if exposed to alternate 
moisture and drying. 

Jute can be cultivated on almost any kind of soil, but its most 
essential requirement is a hot, damp climate with not too much actual 
rainfall, especially in the early part of the season. The warm, humid 
atmosphere of the Brahmaputra and Ganges delta, the alluvial soil 
formed by the overflow of the large rivers and their numerous tribu- 
taries and mouths, and the large supply of cheap native labor form 
such an ideal combination for the growing of this plant that no other 
country, nor even any other section of India, has been able to com- 
pete. The peasants, or ryots, as they are called, are either Hindu or 
Mohammedan; a great majority of the inhabitants of Bengal proper 
are Hindus, but the Mohammedans predominate in Eastern Bengal 
and Assam. 

CULTIVATION OF JUTE. 

There are no large plantations, nor is there any systematic cultiva- 
tion of jute, such as in the growing of cotton ; each Hindu ryot culti- 
vates his own small patch with the labor of himself and his family. 
No attention is paid to seed selection and as a rule no seed is either 
bought or sold, each ryot obtaining his own supply from a few plants 
that he leaves to ripen. The preparation of the soil is usually car- 
ried on during the winter months, sometimes in the latter but usually 
in the early part of the year. The ryot breaks the soil with a primi- 



150 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

tive type of plow, usually made of a tree fork which may or may not 
be tipped with iron, which is fastened to a yoke resting "on the necks 
of his pair of humped bullocks. Deep plowing is impossible and the 
cultivator has to plow over a field several times before it is sufficiently 
broken up. After the clods are broken and pulverized the weeds 
are collected and burned; the soil is left for a while and then the 
seeds are sown broadcast. Sowing extends from the middle of March 
to the end of June, according to the nature and location of the soiL 
and the crop is harvested any time from the first part of July to the 
latter part of September, the bulk of the crop being harvested in Au- 
gust and early September. The crop is ready for harvesting as soon 
as the flowers appear, as the fiber is then in the best condition. The 
larger part of the crop is grown along the river banks and neighbor- 
ing sections of a partially submerged country, but the finest fiber is 
produced on somewhat higher lands having a loamy soil. Some of the 
better lands farther back from the river have jute rotated with rape, 
mustard, peas, tobacco, or other crops in a three-year rotation, but the 
great bulk of the crop is grown without rotation. This fact, together 
with the lack of seed selection, is stated to be the cause of the deterio- 
ration in quality of the fiber that has been increasingly evident in 
recent years. There is rarely any attempt at soil feeding. 

Germination takes place in three or four days after sowing if the 
soil is sufficiently moist ; about 1 \ inches of rain per month is enough 
for the sowing season. The young plants are weeded and thinned 
out to a distance of 6 or 8 inches apart ; if thinned out too much the 
plant tends to run to branches, while if too closely spaced the stems 
grow too slender to furnish a remunerative yield. The plants mature 
in 12 to 15 weeks ; the temperature during this growing season varies 
from 60° to 100° F. 

HARVESTING AND RETTING. 

The plants are cut with a hand sickle close to the ground, and the 
long wands, some 5 to 10 feet in length, are tied into bundles and 
carried to a tank or roadside pool of clear water to be retted. In 
inundated sections of the country they are sometimes cut and left 
in the water to ret, while in lower Bengal a tank is easily formed 
and filled by simply digging a hole in the ground. Some stack the 
crop for two or three days before retting, but this may cause dis- 
coloration of the fiber. In retting, which is necessary to soften the 
gummy pectose that binds the fibers together, the bundles are laid one 
on another and covered with straw to prevent the sun from specking 
the fiber, and they are then weighted down with sod, logs, or other 
handy material so that all may be under water. The green jute is 
left to ret (that is, rot) for 10 to 25 days until the fermentation has 
decomposed the connecting tissues and the fiber has become partially 
liberated. 

When the retting is complete the native enters the pool, and stand- 
ing in the fetid water up to his waist seizes a handful of stems and 
beats the thick ends of these with a mallet. He then strips one after 
another from end to end and thus withdraws the canes entire. Tak- 
ing up a bundle of the ribbons of fiber he lashes them on the surface 
of the water, drawing them toward him with a sharp jerking motion 
that causes the adhering particles of fiber to be brushed off. He 



JUTE INDUSTKY IN INDIA. 151 

then spreads out the handful of cleaned fiber on the surface of the 
water and picks off still adhering fiber by hand. The water is wrung 
out and the clean fiber thrown over a near-by bamboo framework 
to dry and bleach in the sun for two or three days. The woody 
boons are also stacked up to dry and are then used for light fencing 
and for cover in the cultivation of the betel nut. 

METHOD OF MARKETING. 

India being in the East, in fact, being more " eastern " than the 
Far East, there is of course no direct trading, and between the ryot 
producer at one end and the home market at the other there are 
numerous middlemen, each of whom must have his percentage. 
First, there are the beparis, or dealers, then the mahajans, or brokers, 
then the buyers, the balers, and the shippers. Sometimes the last 
three functions are combined by one firm that bales and ships to 
Calcutta what its agents buy in the country. The mahajans, or 
brokers, are mainly Marwari merchants, who come from the Rajpu- 
tana and who advance money to the bepari dealers or sellers on the 
condition that the latter bring to the mahajan all the jute they can 
get from the ryots. 

There are numerous native markets, or hats, scattered over the 
country. To these the jute is brought by the ryots in boats or carts. 
Frequently the native brings in a bundle of dried jute on his head 
and throwing it down in the marketplace squats on it and chews 
betel nut for half a day maybe while he chaffers with the dealers as 
to price. The dealers go from one native to another and after con- 
siderable trafficking buy up what has been brought in ; much of it is 
bought " sub rosa " by the old Hindu system, in which the buyer and 
seller hold clasped hands under a fold of a garment and quote, raise, 
and finally agree on a price by means of the pressure of their fingers, 
no words being spoken so that the quotation may not become known 
to the others. The Marwari allows a commission to his dealers and 
when he has accumulated a sufficient quantity of the raw material it is 
made up into " drums," or bundles, for shipment on a native boat 
down the river to the Calcutta market, where it is sold to the Euro- 
pean balers and shippers. At the presses, most of which are at Cal- 
cutta, the jute is sorted into different grades and the lowest quality 
called " rejections" put by itself. Separate bales are also made of 
the thicker and more woody fiber cut off the ends, these latter usually 
being called " cuttings," except in America where they are known 
as " jute butts." The merchantable " long jute " fiber is then baled 
in three or four different grades, each grade being kept separate and 
having a separate mark. Each shipper has his own series of regis- 
tered trade-marks for the different grades into which he divides his 
purchases, and jute is bought abroad on the guarantee of spinning 
quality thus given. In 1909 and 1910, during sharp fluctuations of 
the market, such losses were sustained by the middlemen that a con- 
siderable number of these grades with their percentages were elim- 
inated, and it seems probable that this experience may result in the 
producer and the merchant being brought into somewhat more direct 
relations. Closer relations would be very desirable, as it would re- 
sult in a stimulation of production by reason of the ryot getting a 
larger proportion of the shipping price; but in so conservative a 



152 LIKEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

country as India any change is necessarily slow. The primary trans- 
action between the buyer and seller is always in silver rupees, as that 
is the only money in general use, and this compels the Marwaris to 
keep a large stock of silver on hand with which to pay for purchases 
by their agents. 

PACKING AND SHIPPING. 

Jute is sometimes baled in hand presses worked by a gang of 
coolies, but that for export is now usually baled in hydraulic presses, 
which have a pressure of 4 tons to the square inch, and is put up in 
bales of uniform size measuring 10 cubic feet, and weighing 400 
pounds. The bales are bound with roughly twisted ropes of jute 
but have no covering. 

The great jute mart of Hautkola lies along the Hoogly River at 
the north end of Calcutta. There also are the jute presses and screw 
houses, conveniently adjacent to the river and to the Port Trust Rail- 
way. Immense quantities of jute are received and shipped here every 
day, especially from August to December. Along the shore at Haut- 
kola may be seen a perfect maze of huge country boats with bamboo 
frames landing the drums of jute from upcountry and taking on 
pressed bales for loading on the four-master jute clippers that lie 
below the bridge some 3 or 4 miles down the river, together with flats 
and other small river craft. Most of the larger steamers lie up at the 
docks below the bridge and take their cargo from the vast jute sheds 
or else direct from the trains run alongside by the Port Trust Rail- 
way. The great bulk of the jute exported from India is shipped from 
Calcutta, with a smaller amount from Chittagong, across the bay. 

Most of the local mills are situated on the banks of the Hoogly 
above Calcutta, and their supply of raw material is largely received 
by boat, either from Calcutta or upcountry presses. 

ACREAGE AND PRODUCTION. 

In 1874 the jute crop was only 1,750,000 bales of 400 pounds each, 
since which time it has increased by about 2,000,000 bales a decade, 
until it reached the maximum of 9,817,800 bales in the season of 
1907-8. Since then it has fluctuated, but with the increasing number 
of jute mills and the increasing demand for jute products it is prob- 
able that before long the crop will be over 10,000,000 bales. 

SYSTEM OF CROP ESTIMATES. 

The Director of Agriculture in India issues annually two estimates 
of the jute crop, one about July 15 and the other and final estimate 
about September 15. The estimate of the jute crop covers 17 dis- 
tricts in which jute is grown, viz, Burdwan, Midnapur, Hoogly, 
Howrah, all of the districts of the Presidency Division, Champaran, 
MuzafTarpur, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Darjeeling, the Santhal Parganas, 
Cuttack, and Balasore. In India everything is reckoned on the basis 
of the 16 annas that make a rupee. A 16 annas, or normal, jute crop 
is assumed by the Government to represent an average production 
of 1,200 pounds, or 3 bales, per acre for every jute-growing district 
in the Province. From the figures showing the quantity of jute 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN" INDIA. 



153 



taken by the local mills and the customs statistics showing the 
quantity exported, it has become evident that either the estimates 
are inaccurate or that 3 bales per acre can not be regarded as 
a correct normal outturn. Steps are now being taken by the Gov- 
ernment to verify thoroughly both the district acreages and the 
average production before the preparation of the next preliminary 
forecast. It appears certain that the so-called normal figure of 3 
bales per acre is under the mark for the leading jute districts. In 
the absence of any revenue agency the Government's forecasts are 
based mainly on rough approximate estimates made by district offi- 
cers, and are more or less conjectural. Th3 district officers obtain 
information from the subdivisional officers through the agency of the 
police. As the growing of jute is confined to one section of one coun- 
try of the world it would seem that a more exact compilation of 
acreage and production should be possible than in the case of other 
textiles, which are scattered over various countries; but one has to 
consider that the section in which jute is grown in India is about as 
]arge as the United Kingdom and that it is grown entirely in small 
patches by uneducated natives. 

In addition to the exports and the mill consumption of India con- 
siderable quantities of jute are used locally in India. This amount 
is conventionally estimated at 500,000 bales, but it seems certain that 
local consumption has been restricted by the wider use of mill-made 
goods and the substitution of corrugated iron for hand- woven jute 
cloths in the* construction of native huts. The Government's fore- 
casts and final revisions include only the output of Bengal and As- 
sam, but in addition to this probably 100,000 bales, more or less, are 
raised in outside sections. 



GOVERNMENT STATISTICS OF ACREAGE AND PRODUCTION. 

According to a pamphlet issued by the Commercial Intelligence 
Department of India on the "Area and Yield of Certain Principal 
Crops in India," published in 1912, the revised figures for the acreage 
and final yield of the jute crop of Bengal and Assam have been as 
follows : 



Years. 


Acreage. 


Bales. 


Years. 


Acreage. 


Bales. 


1897-8 


2, 151, 600 
1, 624, 400 
1, 961, 800 
2,093,400 
2, 263, 800 
2, 142, 700 
2,275,050 
2. 899, 700 


6,839,000 
5, 334, 000 
5,412,000 
6, 526, 000 
7, 438, 000 
6, 577, 000 
7,241,000 
7, 400, 000 


1905-6 


3, 128, 300 
3, 482, 900 
3,974,300 
2, 856, 700 
2, 876, 600 
2, 937, 800 
3, 106, 400 


8,140,900 
9,206,400 
9, 817, 800 
6,310,800 
7, 206, 600 
7, 932. 000 


1898-9.. 


1906-7 


1899-1900... 


1907-8 


1900-1901 


1908-9 


1901-2 


1909-10 


1902-3 


1910-11 


1903-4 


1911-12 


8,234,700 


1904-5 









The 1911-12 figures were made up of 625,100 acres and 1,648,400 
bales for Bengal, 2,461,300 acres and 6,543,400 bales for Eastern 
Bengal and Assam, and 20,000 acres and 42,900 bales for Cooch Bihar 
State. 

TRADE STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION. 

Various trade authorities issue figures, based on the mill consump- 
tion and the recorded exports, to show the actual outturn of the crop 



154 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



at the completion of each season. Sometimes these figures are under 
and sometimes over those estimated by the Government. For in- 
stance, for 1911-12 the Government estimated 8,234,700 bales while 
the Dundee Prices Current and Trade Keport states it was 9,460,588, 
basing this on 4,730,771 bales consumed in India and 4,729,817 bales 
exported. Other authorities put the total figures slightly different, 
but it would seem for the last few years that the Government figures 
have been underestimates. 

PRODUCTION IN 1912-13 BY DISTRICTS. 

The corrected figures for the crop of 1912-13 are, of course, not yet 
to hand, but the final forecast made by the Director of Agriculture 
on September 21, 1912, showed the estimated normal acreage under 
jute, the estimated acreage under jute this season, and the estimated 
yield this season (1912-13), together with the date by which harvest- 
ing generally commences, for the various districts as follows : 



Normal 


Acreage, 


Forecasted 


acreage. 


1912-13. 


outturn. 






Bales. 


707,700 


756,000 


2, 154, 600 


303,000 


290, 000 


783, 000 


260,000 


268, 000 


763,800 


180, 000 


220, 000 


693, 000 


145,000 


188, 000 


535, 800 


125,000 


150,000 


427, 500 


123, 500 


165, 000 


544, 500 


116, 500 


116, 000 


315, 360 


115, 000 


130, 000 


312, 000 


106, 300 


94, 800 


241, 740 


86,200 


80,900 


218, 430 


76, 600 


89,200 


294, 360 


49, 400 


91,000 


259, 350 


42, 100 


25,000 


82, 500 


39, 800 


40,000 


114,000 


38, 400 


60,000 


198,000 


33,000 


38,000 


114,000 


26,000 


26,000 


74, 100 


22,000 


29,000 


82, 650 


18,300 


38,100 


120,015 


16,500 


15,000 


47, 250 


10,400 


11,000 


26, 400 


2,900 


5,000 


10, 500 


200 


300 


855 


2, 643, 800 


2, 927, 100 


8,413,710 


533,800 


393, 950 


1, 019, 665 


48, 200 


32, 750 


88, 425 


3, 225, 800 


3, 353, 800 


9, 521, 800 



Date harvesting usually com- 
mences. 



Mymensingh 

Rangpur 

Tippera 

Pabna 

Dacca 

Faridpur 

Jessore 

Dinajpur 

Bogra 

Jalpaiguri 

Rajshahi 

24-Parganas 

Nadia 

Howrah 

Murshidabad 

Hoogly 

Maida 

Noakhali 

Bakarganj 

Khulna 

Burdwan 

Midnapore 

Darjeeling 

Chittagong 

Total Bengal 

Assam 

Cooch Bihar 

Grand total . 



Middle of July. 

Middle of August. 

Latter part of June. 

June and July. 

July. 

Beginning of July. 

Toward end of August. 

Middle of July. 

End of July. 

Second week of August. 

Middle of July. 

Middle of August. 

Beginning of August. 

Middle of July. 

August. 

Second week of August. 

Middle of July. 

August. 

End of July. 

Middle of September. 

Middle of August. 

Do. 

Do. 
Last week of August. 



DIFFERENT QUALITIES PRODUCED SUBSTITUTES. 

Mymensingh, a clistrict lying just east of the junction of the Brah- 
maputra with the Ganges River and directly north of the Dacca 
section, is the largest producer of jute. The bulk of the jute pro- 
duced in this district is " Seraganji " jute, which in commerce is 
usually called Seragunge. The Dacca district, south of Mymen- 
singh, produces " Narainganji " jute, which in commerce is usually 
known as Naraingunge. " Deora " jute, usually known in commerce 
as Dowrah, comes mainly from the section around Bakerganj and 
Faridpur. The jute grown in the districts around Calcutta such as 
Hoogly, Burdwan, Jessore, and the 24-Parganas is called " Desi " 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN INDIA. 155 

(meaning local), but in commerce this is usually written Daisee. 
These are the four main classes in which jute is ordinarily grouped, 
but there are many minor varieties. The finest grade is said to be 
" Uttariya," which is a northern Sera j gunge jute, and is long, strong, 
and easily spun, brilliant in color and of a fine texture. In point of 
softness, however, it does not compare with " Deswal " jute, the 
next most valuable variety, which is also a Sera j gunge jute. Dowrah 
jute is largely used in rope manufacture and Daisee in the gunny 
trade. 

Jute has been tried in other sections of India, but with little suc- 
cess. The Bombay section was found unsuitable as to both climate 
and soil. In Madras jute grows well, but it can not be raised at a 
cost to compete with the more favorable conditions and the larger 
supply of cheap labor of Bengak Though shipments of so-called 
jute are occasionally made from Madras, this is usually Bimlipatam 
hemp, which is similar to jute in many ways but is not the same. 
The jute mill at Madras is run mainly with Bimlipatam hemp, and 
shipments of this fiber are also occasionally made to Dundee. In 
Burma jute has been tried, but so far without much success. A small 
amount is raised in sections near Bengal, including Nepal, but the 
total is negligible. Jute has been tried in Java, Cochin-China, Cuba, 
and many other countries, but even where the climate and the soil 
were found favorable the cost of production ran considerably higher 
than in Bengal, and though jute cultivation in some countries may 
increase, there is little or no prospect of such production menacing 
Bengal's practical world monopoly in growing this fiber. 

JUTE MANUFACTURE IN INDIA. 

Jute was manufactured by hand in Bengal long before the Scotch 
adapted machinery to its use, in fact, before it had ever been heard 
of in Europe. It was made into cordage, paper, and cloth, and in 
the forties gunny sacks were exported to the United States as well 
as to the Bombay coast and used for transporting sugar and other 
produce to all parts of the world. This early manufacture by hand 
was a fairly extensive industry, but of course is dwarfed by compari- 
son with the great amount of jute raised and manufactured since the 
industry has been stimulated by the application of machinery. 

It was not until 1855 that the manufacture of jute by machinery 
was inaugurated in India, and its start then was rather casual. In 
1851 an Englishman named George Ackland, residing in Bengal, 
became interested in the possibilities of rhea as a competitor of flax 
and hemp and carried home some of the fiber to see if machinery 
could be adapted to its use. His scheme did not meet with any en- 
couragement among the machine makers, and when a Dundee jute 
machinery maker advised him that rhea was too tough and gummy to 
become a competitor, and added that more practical results could be 
obtained in India by manufacturing jute in the section where it was 
raised, and showed him how successfully this was being done in 
Dundee, he gave up his former plan and ordered a few sets of jute 
preparing and spinning machinery shipped to Calcutta. The Rishra 
mill built by him at Rishra, near Serampore, was the first jute mill 
started in India. The Rishra was started as a spinning mill, but in 



156 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



1857 added some hand looms. This company did not meet with much 
success and finally disappeared. 

The second jute mill to start in India, that of the Borneo Jute Co., 
commenced work in 1859 and was the first to introduce power looms. 
It was afterwards changed to a limited liability company, under the 
name of the Barnagore Jute Manufacturing Co. (Ltd.) , and it to-day 
ranks as the largest mill in India, having over 2,000 looms in its 
three factories and employing over 15,000 operatives. 

In 1862 the Gourepore mill was started at Naihati, and in 1866 the 
India Jute Mill was started at Serampore. 

Up to 1873 only four jute mills had been started in India, but these 
proved so promising that there was then a rush to get into the new in- 
dustry, and in 1873, 1874, and 1875 no fewer than a dozen new mills were 
put in operation. Another mill was started in 1877, another in 1883, 
and three more in 1884. The business was overdone and caused so 
much competition that for a decade there was a lull, and fiien again 
a rush of new capital in the latter half of the nineties. The 192 
looms of 1859 (with probably some 3,000 spindles) had increased by 
the end of 1900 to some 14,000 looms and some 300,000 spindles, but 
it was reserved for the twentieth century to witness the greatest prog- 
ress in the manufacture of jute in India. Since 1900 the industry 
has more than doubled and is now increasing faster, relatively as well 
as absolutely, than ever before. 

PROGRESS IN LAST THIRTY YEARS. 

The official statistics show the progress of Indian jute mills since 
1880 for fiscal years ended March 31, as follows : 



Years. 



Mills at 
work. 



Nominal capital employed. 



Pounds ster- 
ling. 



Rupees. 



Persons 
employed. 



Spindles. 



Looms. 



1879-80. . 
1886-87. . 
189(P9l.. 
1895-96. . 
1899-1900 
1900-1... 
1901-2... 
1902-3... 
1903-4... 
1904-5... 
1905-6... 
1906-7. . . 
1907-8... 
1908-9. . . 
1909-10. . 
1910-11.. 



22 
24 
26 
28 
34 
36 
36 
38 
38 
38 
39 
44 
54 
56 
60 
58 



1,392,350 
1,557,000 
1,757,000 
1,297,222 
1,591,358 
1,691,358 
1,741,358 
1,741,35b 
2,263,358 
2,283,358 
2,463,358 
2,718,358 
2,893,358 
2,913,358 
2,913 358 
2,913,358 



12,800,000 
12,900,000 
13,750,000 
27,212,250 
35,800,000 
40,950,000 
43,508,000 
43,908,000 
40,355,000 
46,680,000 
50,680,000 
54,180,000 
61,880,000 
67,505,000 
71,405,000 
71,305,000 



27,494 
49,015 
61,698 
78,114 
102, 449 
111,272 
114, 795 
118,904 
123,869 
133, 162 
144, 879 
166,895 
187, 771 
192, 181 
204, 104 
216,390 



70,840 
135,593 
162, 785 
214,679 
295,302 
317,348 
331,382 
352, 214 
376, 718 
409, 170 
453, 168 
520,504 
562,274 
607, 358 
645, 862 
682,527 



4,946 
6,911 
7,804 
10, 169 
14,119 
15,340 
16,119 
17, 189 
18,400 
19,991 
21,986 
25,284 
27, 244 
29,525 
31,418 
33, 169 



The increase in the capacity of Indian jute mills has been one of 
the marvels of the manufacturing world, and a larger proportion of 
the jute crop is now manufactured in the section of the country where 
it is raised than is the case with any other textile fiber. Not only 
do the above figures show a great increase, but by the 1st of January, 
1913, the looms had increased to some 36,000 and much machinery 
has been ordered. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN INDIA. 



157 



In the foregoing statistics part of the capital is given in pounds 
sterling, this being for companies incorporated in Great Britain, and 
the remainder in rupees for companies incorporated in India. The 
capital employed at^the end of March, 1911, was £2,913,358 and 
71,305,000 rupees, making a total of $37,317,572. This is listed as 
nominal working capital, as many mills did not return their capitali- 
zation. The total is estimated as really having been over $50,000,000 
and, of course, has since been considerably increased. 

The Indian cotton mills for the year ended March 31, 1911, em- 
ployed nominal capital to the extent of £636,274 and 214.113,486 
rupees, or a total of $72,562,037, but here again there was no accurate 
returns, as many mills failed to state this. The comparison in ether 
respects is more exact and showed the following : 



Jute mills. 



Cotton 
mills. 



Spindles 

Looms 

Employees: 

Men 

Women 

Young persons 
Children 

Total 



682,527 
33.169 



6,346,675 
84, 627 



141,576 
34,090 
19, 643 
21,081 



157, 629 
39, 615 
16, 223 
17,409 



216,390 



230,876 



RECENT TREND OF INDUSTRY. 



Practically all the jute mills in India carry on the complete work, 
from the raw material to the finished product, but a large number 
of the cotton mills spin only. The most striking contrast is that 
jute mills require so many more operatives than cotton mills. The 
Indian cotton mills with nine times as many spindles and two and 
a half times as many looms employ only a few more operatives than 
the jute mills. Jute mills, per spindle or per loom, require many 
more operatives, and their first cost is much greater than that of 
cotton mills. Their production is also much greater, for though 
the jute spindles and looms are run at slower speeds than in the 
cotton industry the product is much coarser. The Indian cotton 
industry in the year ended March 31, 1911, turned out 609,927,141 
pounds of yarn and 245,814,873 pounds of woven goods, a total of 
855,742,014 pounds, requiring some 1,000,000,000 pounds of cotton. 
The much smaller number of spindles and looms in the Indian jute 
mills used up some 4,400,000 bales, or 1,760,000,000 pounds, of jute 
in the same year. 

The first jute mill in India, the Rishra, started with Dundee ma- 
chinery capable of working 8 tons of jute a day. The mills of India 
in 1913 consume daily over 2,500 tons of jute, which is considerably 
more than three times as much as that of the Dundee jute mills. 
In 1850-51 the value of the jute crop to India, as represented by 
the export of raw material and of some native hand manufactures, 
was only a little over 41 lakhs of rupees, while the export of raw 
and manufactured jute in 1912-13 was nearly 50 lakhs (499,217,799 
rupees), and the great increase in the amount received by India for 



158 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



the larger crop has been due in large part to the enhancement in 
value from manufacturing half of the crop at home. 

For some time after machine manufacture was started the Indian 
mills confined themselves to the coarsest grade of goods, and most 
of the looms until very recently were classed as sacking looms; but 
though the Indian mills still make mostly plain cloths, a majority 
of the looms now used are classed as hessian (burlap) looms. Ac- 
cording to the figures of D. R. Wallace, of 3,858 jute looms in India 
in 1877 there were 2,948 sacking and only 910 hessian, while of 
J 5,213 looms in 1901, 8',613 were sacking and 6,600 hessian. There 
was then a trend toward the finer and lighter goods, and in 1906 
the number of hessian looms passed the sacking looms, and a great 
majority of the looms installed since and those now being installed 
are for making hessians. This, of course, makes increasingly sharp 
competition with Dundee on its staple industry. Calcutta, however, 
has so far passed Dundee in this industry that the number of oper- 
atives actively employed in the Indian jute industry greatly exceeds 
the entire population of Dundee and its suburbs. 

According to the figures of Moran & Co., Calcutta jute brokers, 
the number of sacking and hessian looms and the reed space actively 
at work in India on January 1 were as follows : 



Reed space 
in inches. 


Number. 


Heed space 
in inches. 


Number. 


Sacking 
looms. 

32 

32i- 


1,04] 
1,606 
1,011 

558 
4,027 

439 
3,805 
1,094 

421 


Hessian 
looms. — Con. 

49 

50 


230 

227 

275 

1,283 

3,426 

1,036 

656 

755 

101 

146 

111 

145 

588 

82 

23 

232 

496 


33 


51 


33^,34 

36 


52 


52 J 


36£ 


53 


37 


53i, 54 

56 


37^ 


0ver37|... 

Hessian 
looms. 

42*. 44 

454 


56| 


57 


14,002 


57J 


58 


142 

900 

1,776 

5,885 

95 


58"r 


60 

62£ 


64 

Over 64 


46* 


46| 


18.610 


47i, 48 



This shows the total jute looms in India on January 1, 1912, as 
32,612, which is slightly different from the Government figures ; but 
figures that are obtained from various sources in India will be 
found to differ according to whether the fiscal, the calendar, or the 
crop year is considered, not to mention the fact that looms are now 
increasing so fast that there is a considerable difference sometimes 
according to the day of the year on which the figures are compiled, 
and according to whether the figures are for looms actually in opera- 
tion or also include those being installed. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN INDIA. 



159 



PKINCIPAL MILLS. 



The mills in operation in India January 1, 1913, are given as 
follows : 



Mills. 



Albion 

Alexandra 

Alipore .' 

Alliance 

Anglo-India 

Auckland 

Barnagore 

Belvedere 

Briggs 

Budge-Budge 

Central 

Champdany 

Champdany, Wellington branch 

Clive 

Dalhousie * 

Delta 

Fort Gloster 

Fort William 

Ganges 

G ndolpara 

Gourepr re 

Hastings 

Hocgly Upper 



Looms. 



340 

396 

48 

1,002 

1,982 
400 

2,040 
400 
16 
782 
579 
494 
300 
868 
830 
570 

1,100 
519 

1,298 
354 

1,255 
810 
455 



Mills. 



Howrah 

India 

Kamarhatty 

Kanknarrah 

Kelvin 

Khardah 

Kinnison 

Lansdowne 

Lawrence 

Naihati 

National 

Northbrook 

Reliance 

Samnuggar 

Soorah 

Standard 

Titaghur 

Union 

Union South Mill 
Victoria 

Total 



Looms. 



,550 

,003 

,278 

,467 

600 

,370 

,150 

870 

432 

430 

611 

528 

,000 

943 

175 

640 

,718 

525 

650 

,053 



34,831 



Several mills are enlarging and others are being built as fast as 
machinery can be obtained. It is stated that looms already ordered 
for installation will run the total number up to 37,316, of which 
15,791 are stated to be sacking and 21,525 hessian looms. It is prob- 
able that part of the looms ordered can not be obtained from the ma- 
chine shops in time to start this year, but on the other hand if the 
present prosperity continues more looms will probably be ordered 
and the trade expects the increase during 1913 and 1914 to be fully 
10 per cent. 

The Alipore Jail Jute Mill above mentioned really should not be 
included among the regular mills, as it does not manufacture for the 
general market. It was started in 1870 to make wrapper cloth for 
opium cases and currency bags and it employs only convicts. The 
Gourepore Co. works an up-to-date oil mill in conjunction with 
its jute business. The small Briggs mill, now known as the Nar- 
colganga, works on the heavy bagging used for baling American cot- 
ton, and the Lansdowne, the Hastings, the Alliance, and the Kinnison 
also have a few looms that work more or less regularly on this pro- 
duct, the coarsest grade of goods made of jute. The Alliance and the 
Kinnison, it is stated, are not now (1913) running on such goods, as 
there is a better and more regular profit on other goods. Bagging for 
American cotton is made 45 inches wide and generally weighs 2 to 2J 
pounds to the linear yard, while the largest regular output of the 
mills is hessians (burlaps) 40 inches wide and weighing 6 to 14 
ounces to the yard; the heaviest regular double-warp bagging or 
sacking is not much over 24 ounces to the yard. 

The Samnuggar, Titaghur, and Victoria are known as the Dundee 
group of mills, as they were founded with Dundee capital and are 
managed from a head office located in that city. The other mills 
were largely built with English capital, some also having native 
capital, but are managed and financed from their local headquarters. 



160 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

The Dundee group has been one of the best paying of all, the last 
dividend for the group being 10 per cent, with a bonus of 5 per cent 
on the ordinary shares for the year ended December 31, 1912, free of 
income tax. They are also adding 500 or 600 more looms to their 
capacity, paying for them out of profits. 

According to detailed figures by mills published in the Calcutta 
Capital, the profits of the Indian mills as a whole amounted to 
7,641,162 rupees in 1910, 4,947,888 rupees in 1911, and to 22,069,851 
rupees in 1912. The profits for 1913 are expected to be even larger, 
for though raw jute is much higher the demand for the finished 
product is such that the mills have been able to maintain and in most 
cases to increase their margin of profit. 

OPERATIVES AND WAGES. 

Most of the operatives in Indian jute mills are adult males, while 
at Dundee the majority are women and girls. Of 216,390 Indian 
mill workers in 1911, 141,576, or 65.42 per cent, were men; 34,090, or 
15.75 per cent, were women; 19,643, or 9.07 per cent, were young- 
persons, 14 to 16 years of age; and 21,081, or 9.74 per cent, children 
from 9 to 14. Children are allowed to work only half time. 

The total number of operatives in Indian jute mills in 1913 is 
about 250,000 (the number steadily increasing with the rapid addi- 
tion of new machinery) and the number of European assistants about 
500. The European assistants have general oversight of the work and 
of the machinery, but the active management of the help, arranging 
shifts, assigning workers to the machines, etc., is carried on by natives 
called " sirdars," and the checking up of the work done and the 
paying off of the hands is done by native " babus." It is a common 
complaint among the workers that the sirdars and babus charge 
" dasturi " equal to about a week's wages for giving a job to a new 
man, and also manipulate the payrolls to swell their own profits at the 
expense of the workers; this system has been found difficult for the 
Europeans to prevent. 

With few exceptions the Indian jute mills are situated on the banks 
of the River Hoogly, extending a distance of some 40 miles along the 
river above Calcutta. Each mill is in a large compound on the river 
bank and is built on the shed principle, having only a ground floor 
and large doors and windows. Most of the mills have electric lights 
but there are no humidifiers. A majority of the mills are operated by 
steam engines, but some mills generate their own electricity for 
operation. 

HOUSING OF EMPLOYEES. 

Near the mill are the " coolie lines," or habitations of the workers. 
Some live in the most insanitary hovels in the bazaars of the towns, 
but in order to provide for imported labor most of the mills now 
house a portion of their help in " pucca " brick houses, which they 
build at a cost of 200 to 250 rupees a room and which they rent at a 
nominal charge of 12 to 16 annas per room per month. Filtered 
water is supplied at near-by hydrants and the lines of houses have 
drains which are regularly "flushed. Many natives prefer to live in 
their own bamboo huts, which are not much more than four posts in 
the ground, with crosspieces lashed to them at the top, and with sides 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN INDIA. 161 

and roof of matting or sometimes corrugated iron, and mud-packed 
floors. The natives usually crowd together and single workers 
usually board with some other worker who has a female relative liv- 
ing with him to do the cooking ; the general rate for board and lodg- 
ing, where the boarders and the family share one room, is 6 rupees 
per month. Notwithstanding the crowded conditions under which 
they usually live and the low standard of living, the workers in the 
jute mills are usually better off and suffer less from disease than they 
would in most of their native municipalities, where the sanitary 
standard is lower. 

CHARACTER OF LABOR SUPPLY. 

The low standard of living is accompanied by low efficiency, and 
there are many drawbacks to building up a force of skilled help. 
There is practically no factory population, such as exists in European 
countries, comprising a large number of operatives trained from their 
youth to one particular class of work and dependent for their liveli- 
hood upon employment at such work. Most of the workers are men 
from distant village farms, and they can always earn a living, though 
on a lower scale, at their hereditary, occupation. This fact, together 
with the increasing demand for labor in an expanding industry, ac- 
counts for the independence of the operatives and the lax discipline 
that usually prevails in the jute mills of Bengal as contrasted with 
the Bombay cotton mills and jute mills upcountry. 

With the expansion of the industry, upcountry men have come in, 
and the Bengali, who is constitutionally weaker and therefore less 
capable of standing the long hours, seems to have dropped out. The 
workers now come from the United Provinces, Orissa, Madras 
Presidency, Northwest Provinces, and distant districts of Bengal, 
such as Dacca, Sera j gunge, and Behar. The larger portion of the 
workers seem to be Baharis and United Province natives. Some of 
the men bring their families with them, being attracted by the fact 
that there is suitable work for the whole family from 9 years of age 
up, but a very large number of the men come alone. In such case 
his home is in the village from which he comes, not in trie city in 
which he works ; he regularly remits a portion of his wages to his 
wife and family at home, and he returns there periodically to look 
after his affairs and to obtain rest after the strain of factory life. 
Most of such operatives take two or three months off every year, 
and during the hot weather in April, May, and June there is always a 
great scarcity of help in Indian jute mills; not infrequently the pro- 
duction of mills for these months is as much as 25 per cent below 
normal. Before the introduction of electric lights, in the nineties, 
the employees usually worked hard during the warm weather and 
took their vacation at home in the winter months, but they now 
usually quit work during the hot period. The upcountry man usually 
stops when he gets ready, for there is always some kind of work for 
him at his native village, and in most cases he is secured against 
want by the joint-family system. The position of the operative is 
strengthened by the fact that the labor supply is inadequate and that 
there is keen competition among employers to secure a full labor 
supply; moreover, this competition has been made keener by the 
growth of new factories. These two main causes — the independence 

13002°— No. 74—13 11 



162 LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 

of the Indian laborer owing to the fact that he possesses other and 
congenial means of earning a livelihood, and the deficient labor sup- 
ply — govern the whole situation. 

FACTORY DISCIPLINE. 

As the Indian operative is not a factory operative pure and simple, 
he is comparatively unskilled; and as his services are indispensable 
and hard to get, he is, within wide limits, allowed by his employers to 
perform the work intrusted to him as he likes. The Indian factory 
hand is, in general, incapable of prolonged and sustained effort, and 
he must have time to rest frequently. He is fond of change and likes 
to wander from one mill to another, and the slightest excuse often 
leads him to seek a new place of work. The workers are extraordi- 
narily sensitive to any changes being made in their habits or methods 
of working, even in the smallest trifles ; they do their work with or- 
dinary oriental regard to discipline, but they resent any interference 
with precedent that they regard as uncalled for on the part of the 
European. Indian workers have been accustomed to regard long 
hours and low wages as the natural condition of things, but the* 
scarcity of labor and the fact that the workers are practically in- 
dependent of the mill for a livelihood really make the operatives the 
masters of the situation to the extent that the mill managers have 
to allow them to do their work in their own way and must think 
twice before attempting the slightest change. Strikes are not in- 
frequent, but are rather erratic. For instance, the weavers at one 
mill struck for shorter hours, and then when they found they could 
not earn as much as before (they were on piecework), they struck 
for longer hours. There have been strikes both for and against stop- 
ping Saturday afternoon, but as a rule the mills work six full days 
and do their cleaning and repair work on Sundays. Coolies are em- 
ployed to clean the preparing and spinning machinery, but the 
weavers have to clean their own looms. All of the jute mills pay off 
on Saturday for the previous week. 

WORKING HOURS. 

With the introduction of the electric light the Indian jute mills 
worked 15 hours a day, Saturday included, which made a 90-hour 
week. The mills ran nominally from 5 a. m. to 8 p. m., and some 
even " cribbed time " openly by working from 4.30 a. m. to 8.30 p. m. 
None of the mills had any midday rest, there being no stoppage of 
the machinery from early morning until late at night. The actual 
time worked by any one operative, however, was not nearly so long. 
In the preparing and spinning section the operatives were worked in 
shifts, according to a rather complicated system, so that no one 
worked over 10 or 11 hours a day. The weavers had to be at the 
mill the full number of hours the mill ran, but on broad looms there 
were usually five weavers to four looms ; in some cases the extra hand 
was paid by the mill and in some cases by the weavers, who were 
given a higher rate for this purpose. With narrow looms the men on 
four adjoining looms formed themselves into a set, and arranged 
times of relief among themselves. No weaver worked over 12 hours 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN INDIA. 163 

actual time, for each spent about 3 hours loafing around the mill 
compound, smoking, bathing, and preparing and eating his food. 

Bengali operatives differ from those of other textile centers, as they 
will not eat cooked food brought to the mill and always have to take 
time for cooking. Some operatives who lived an hour or more away 
from the mill had to get up at 3 o'clock at night to get to the- mill by 
4.30 or 5 o'clock, and then did not get home until 9 o'clock or later at 
night. Under such conditions there could be no real family life. 
Even though it was claimed, that no operative actually worked over 
12 hours a day the conditions were so bad that in 1907 the Indian 
Government appointed a commission to inquire into the condition of 
factory labor in the textile factories. This commission reported in 
1908, and as a result of its investigations there was passed March 21, 
1911, the Indian factory bill that came into effect July 1, 1912. 

Under this law no child can be employed more than 6 hours, no 
woman more than 11 hours, and no adult male more than 12 hours 
in any one day, exception being made in certain cases of those in the 
engine room, repair shop, etc. It requires a stoppage for not less 
than half an hour at every factory at intervals not exceeding six 
hours. Women and children are not allowed to commence work 
before 5.30 a. m. nor to continue work after 7 p. m. The full work- 
ing week under the act, therefore, is 6 days of 13^ hours, or 81 hours 
total, instead of the 90 hours that had theretofore prevailed. 

Owing to the scarcity of help none of the jute mills has worked 
at night since 1906, and the new law practically insures that they do 
not by prohibiting night work of women and children. In the 
weaving and calender departments a majority of the workers are 
men, but in batching, preparing, spinning, and winding a very large 
proportion are women and children. Most of the operatives in the 
batching, preparing, and spinning rooms are paid by the week, with 
a bonus for full time. The winders are paid by the box of so many 
pounds. The weavers are paid by the cut, with a bonus for getting 
off a certain specified number of cuts a week and an additional 
bonus for all cuts over the standard requirement. Weavers make 3 
to 8 rupees, with an average of about 5 rupees (say, $1.67), a week. 
Calender men are paid by the week and those in the bag department 
by the bundle. Engine and mechanic shop workers are paid by the 
month, as are also babus and other clerks. 

WAGE SCALES OF LARGE MILL. 

The following is the complete wage list of a large Indian jute 
mill having over 800 looms in 1909, and though the hours have since 
been reduced from 90 to 81 a week, the wages have not been changed 
materially. The wages are stated in rupees, annas, and pies; 12 
pies make an anna and 16 annas make a rupee, which is equivalent 
to 32.443 cents United States currency. The anna is therefore equiva- 
lent to approximately 2 cents and the pie to one-sixth of a cent. 



164 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 
Batching, Preparing, and Spinning. 



Employees. 



BATCHING. 

Head sirdar 

Assistant sirdar 

Cutting sirdar 

Assistant cutting sirdar. 
Weft batching sirdar. . . 

Bale openers 

Batchers 

Jute cutters 

Jute carrier coolies 

Sweepers 

Weighers 

Softener feeders 

Softener receivers 

Rope and waste cutters 
Waste breaker feeders . . 
Dust shaker coolies 

PEEPARING. 

% Head sirdar 

Line sirdars 

Breaker feeders 

Breaker receivers 

Card feeders 

Card receivers 

Hessian breaker coolies . . 
Sacking breaker coolies . . 



Weekly 
wages. 



a. p. 







8 

8 

8 

8 

2 

10 

10 

12 

12 

8 

14 

6 

10 



8 

8 

8 

6 



6 

6 

1 10 

1 10 



Bonus. 



E. a. p. 
10 



4 
8 



2 

3 



1 
2"6 



10 



Employees. 



preparing — continued . 

Sweepers 

Women drawing hands 

Coolie drawing hands 

Roving women 

Rover boys 

Shifter boys 

Rove coolies 

Oilers 

SPINNING. 

Head sirdar 

Line sirdars 

Shifting sirdars 

Hessian warp spinners 

Sacking warp spinners 

Hessian weft spinners 

Sacking weft spinners 

Piecers 

Twisters 

Shifter boys 

Listing sewers 

Oilers 

Sweepers 

Coolie sirdars 

Coolies 



Weekly 
wages. 



E. a. p. 

1 10 

16 

1 10 
18 

2 
14 

1 10 

2 8 









2 

4 

6 

2 10 

18 

2 

1 

2 

2 8 
14 

3 
1 10 



Bonus. 



E. a. p. 
2"6 



2 
2 



4 



2 



2 



Winding and Beaming. 



Employees. 



COP WINDING. 

Hessian cop winders .per box (42 lbs.) . 

Sacking cop winders do — 

Head sirdar per week. 

Assistant sirdar do — 

Cop house coolies do — 

Cop house weighing babu .do 

WARP WINDING. 

Warp winders: 

Hessian yarn (9 bobbins per 

check), per check 

Sacking yarn (10 bobbins per 

check), per check 

T)yed yarn (7 bobbins per check), 

per check 

Head sirdar per week. 

Assistant sirdar do 

Coolie sirdar do 

Sweepers .do 

Oilers do. . . 

Coolies do 

Bobbin cleaners do. . . 



Wages. 



E. a. p. 

3 12 

3 8 

2 4 



3 



3 

8 



4 

4 

8 

1 10 

14 



Employees. 



warp winding — continued. 

Check distributers per week . 

Reelers do. . . 

BEAMING. 

Sirdar per week. 

Hessian beamers per cut. 

Sacking beamers do. . . 

Dyers per week. 

Dyer coolies do. . . 

Sweepers do. . . 

Coolies do. . . 

WEAVING. 

Cut carriers per 100 cuts. 

Daily sirdar per week. 

Comb repairer do. . . 

Oilers do... 

Coolie sirdar do. . . 

Coolies do. . . 

Sweepers do. . . 

Weighing babus do. . . 

Head cloth examiner do. . . 

Cloth examiner do. . . 



Wages. 



E. 


a. 


P. 


3 








1 14 






6 
8 
7 
2 8 
1 14 
14 
18 



8 

4 

3 

2 8 

2 4 

1 14 
14 

3 

2 2 
2 



JUTE INDUSTKY IN INDIA. 
Weaving Sirdars. 



165 



Employees. 


Porter. 


Shots 
per inch. 


Width in 
inches. 


Rate per 
cut. 


Head sirdars; 

Hessian 


• 

11 

11 

9 


12 
12 
10 


45 
40 
36 


Pies. 

n 
1* 

1 


Do... 


Do 


Sacking 


1 


Line sirdars: 

Hessian 


11 
11 

9 
8 
8 
6 
6 
5 
7 


12 
12 
10 
8 
9 
8 
9 
8 
8 


45 

40 

36 

28 

28 

26| 

28 

29 

28 


5i 

5* 


Do 


Do 


5 


Sugar bags 


3! 

3£ 


Heavy C's 


Twill 


3| 


K's 


3i 


E's 


3} 


Pack sheet 


3£ 





Weavers. 





Porter. 


Shots 
per inch. 


Width in 
inches. 


Rate per 
cut. 


Bonus. 


Cloth. 


Cuts 
required. 


Amount. 


Plain twills 


8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

6 

6 

6 

8 

8 

5 

5 

6 

6 

7 

12 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

5 

7 

11 

11 

10 

9 

9 

9 

9 

11 

11 

11 

11 


10 

10 

9 

9 

8 

8 

9 

8 

8 

9 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

13 

9 

7 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

8 

9 

12 

12 

11 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

12 

12 

12 


33 

31 

30 

26§ 

26J 

30 

26J 

26J 

28 

29 

29 

28 

26 

28 

28 

24 

28 

30 

30 

29 

28 

27 

24 

22 

29 

27 

42| 

45 

40 

40 

40 

45 

36 

50 

32 

22 

30 

32 


A. p. 
6 
5 9 
5 9 
5 
5 
4 6 
4 6 
4 3 
4 6 
4 6 
4 

3 9 

4 
4 

4 3 

5 6 
5 
5 3 
5 6 
5 
5 
5 
4 6 
4 6 

4 6 
3 9 

5 6 

6 6 
6 6 
6 
6 
6 
6 
6 6 
5 
5 
5 6 
5 6 


12 
12 
12 
12 
12 
14 
14 
14 
14 
14 
15 
15 
15 
15 
14 
14 
12 
12 
12 
12 
12 
12 
12 
12 
14 
15 
14 
12 
12 
14 
14 
14 
14 
14 
14 
12 
12 
12 


A. 

4 


Do 


4 


Egyptian twill grain sacks 


4 


Australian corn sacks 


4 


Do 


4 


Twills 


4 


No. 2 twills 


4 


B twills 


4 


Heavy C's 


4 


Do 


4 


E's 


4 


Do 


3 


Salt bags 


3 


K's 


3 


Pack sheet 


4 


Canvas 


4 


Twill sugar bags 


4 


Twills 


4 


Do 


4 


Do 


4 


Do 


4 


Do 


4 


Do 


4 


Do 


4 


D. W 


4 


E's 


3 


Pack sheet 


4 


Hessians 


2 


Do 


2 


Do 


2 


Do 


2 


Do 


2 


Do 


2 


Do 


2 


Do , 


2 


Do 


2 


Do 


2 


Do 


2 







Note.— The yarn laid for each of the above-mentioned cloths is 108 yards. An additional bonus of 6 
pies is given for every cut woven over and above the number required to earn the initial bonus. The 
above cloths are woven on 37-inch sacking looms and 46^ and 52| inch hessian looms. There are 20 broad 
looms, 60-inch reed space, and on these the weavers are paid 3 pies more for every cut of all fabrics. 



166 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 
Finishing. 



Employees. 



Calender sirdar 

Cutting machine sirdar. . 

Measuring coolies 

Damping coolies 

Calender coolies 

Cutting machine coolies. 
Lapping machine coolies 

Sewing twist coolies 

Cut bags carrier 

; joiners... 



Weekly 
wages. 



E. a. 

3 8 

3 

1 11 



11 
4 

14 


11 
7 

11 



Employees. 



Bag weigher 

Bundle weighing coolies 

Godown sirdars 

Godown coolies 

Oiler 

Markman 

Hoop cutter 

Sweeper 

Waste cleaner 



Weekly 
wages. 



E. a. 
2 4 



11 

4 

14 

8 

14 
6 
6 



Hemming, Sewing, and Bag Finishing. 



Articles. 


Size. 


Rate per 
bundle. 


Articles. 


Size. 


Rate per 
bundle. 


MACHINE HEMMING. 

Hemmed corn sacks 

Hemmed A twills .... 


Inches. 
44 by 26! 
44 by 26i 

44 by 26J 
40 by 28 

45 by 26 
36 by 22 

36 by 22 
60 by 30 
44 by 26! 
44 by 26| 
44 by 26i 

44 by 26! 
40 by 28 

39 by 29 

45 by 26 

40 by 28 
85 by 45 

36 by 22 
60 by 30 
44 by 26| 
44 by 26! 


A. p. 
3 
3 
3 
2J 

2! 

4 

1 
9 
9 
6 
6 
6 
6 

6 

6 

6 

1 6 

1 6 
1 3 
1 3 

i n 


HAND SEWING (ALL 

hemmed)— continued. 
Corn sacks 


Inches. 
44 by 26! 
44 by 26! 
40 by 28 
40 by 28 
44 by 28 
36 by 26! 

38 by 28 
48 by 28 
58 by 28 
48 by 26! 

36 by 22 
40 by 26 
40 bv 29 
46 by 26! 
40 by 27 

37 by 26! 
40 by 27 

36 by 22 
44 by 26! 
44 by 26! 

44 by 26! 
40 bv 28 

45 by 26 

39 by 29 


A. p. 
1 li 
1 li 

10! 

10! 

10! 


Hemmed B twills 


B twills 


Hemmed E's 


E's 


Hemmed salt sacks 


Heavy C's 


Hemmed wheat pockets 


E's 


A twills 


l li 

11! 


MACHINE SEWING. 


E's 




Twills 


1 3 


Hemmed: 


Do 


1 3 


Hessian wheat pockets. 


Corn sacks 


l i! 


Grain sacks, tar sewn 


Wheat bags 


1 6 


B twills.. ' 


B twills 


1 U 


Corn sacks 


Twills 


i i! 


B twills 


Corn sacks 


1 li 


A twills 


Twills 


l i! 


E's 


B twills 


l l! 


Unhemmed: 


Twills 


1 3 


E's 


BAG FINISHING. 

Hemmed: 

Hessian wheat pockets. . 
Corn sacks 




Salt sacks 




Heavy C's 




Cotton packs 




HAND SEWING (ALL 
HEMMED). 


9 
6 


A twills 


6 


B twills 


6 


Wheat pockets 


E's 


4i 


Grain sacks 


Salt sacks 


4i 


B twills, tar sewn 


Unhemmed: E's 


4i 


A twills 











JUTE INDUSTKY IN INDIA. 

MlSTRIES, ETC. 



167 



Employees. 



ENGINE AND MECHANIC SHOP. 

Head viceman 

Viceman 

Do 

Head turnman 

Turnman 

Do 

Head joiner 

Joiner 

Do 

Do 

Craneman 

Pump man 

Head rajmistry 

Rajmistries 

Head blacksmiths 

Blacksmiths 

Molder 

Head tinsmith 

Tinsmith 

Head khalasi 

Khalasies 

Boiler tindel 

Firemen 

Painter 

Mechanic shop coolies 

Do 

Electric engine coolie 

Crane coolie 

Store coolie 

Hammermen 

Boiler men 

Mechanic shop coolie 

Mason 

Coal coolie 

Molder coolie 

Ash coolie -. 

Skylight coolie 

Dispensary coolie 



Rate per 
month. 



R. a. 

34 8 

30 

23 
27 
20 
18 

27 
25 

24 
16 
18 

12 
15 

13 
32 

28 

25 
25 
22 

14 

11 
18 

12 
22 
12 

9 12 

9 12 

9 12 

10 

10 

9 8 



9 

9 

9 

7 8 

7 



Employees. 



ENGINE AND MECHANIC SHOP — COntd. 

Shafting oilers 

Do 

Engine oilers 

PREPARING AND SPINNING. 

Preparing department: 

Head viceman 

Viceman 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Head joiner 

Joiner 

Spinning department: 

Head viceman 

Viceman 

Pin boys 

Coolies 

FACTORY. 

Head viceman 

Viceman 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Joiners 

Do 

Coolies 



Rate per 
month. 



R. a. 

11 6 

10 8 

9 12 



29 

25 

23 

19 

18 
16 
12 
28 

24 

20 

19 
5 

( ] ) 



30 

24 

21 
19 
17 
16 
14 
10 

8 
5 

22 
14 

9 



i 4 annas 6 pies per day. 
Mill and Office Clerks. 



Clerks. 


Rate per 
month. 


Clerks. 


Rate per 
month. 


MILL. 

Preparing babu 


R. a. 
33 
30 
18 

10 4 
10 3 
28 
12 
10 
14 

14 

15 
12 
15 


mill — continued . 
Jetty clerk 


R. a. 




24 


Spinning babu 


Doctor 






60 


Winding babu 


OFFICE. 

Office clerk 




"Weaving babu: 

Hessian looms 




Sacking looms 


70 


Calender babu 


Do 

Do 


60 


Measuring babu 


25 


Assistant measuring babu 


Do -. 


20 


Sewing machine babu 


Do 


18 


Hemming machine babu 


Do 


16 


Baling babu 


Draftsman 


20 


Markman babu 


Storekeeper 


40 


Jute godown clerk 


Assistant storekeeper 


15 









i Per 100 cuts. 



168 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 
Miscellaneous. 



Employees. 


Wages. 


Employees. 


Wages. 


OUTDOOR COOLIES. 

Cool:3 sirdar per week. . 

Coolies do 


R. a. p. 
1 14 
1 11 
1 10 

1 14 9 

2 
1 11 


CREW OF BOATS. 

Cargo boats (9 men each}, per month per 
boat 


R. a. p. 

77 


Jetty coolie do 

Iceman do 


Ferryboats (2 men each), per month per 
boat 


18 


Trolley coolie do 

Mally (garden) coolies do 







EXPORT TRADE. 

The United Kingdom is the largest purchaser of raw jute from 
India, and is followed by Germany, the United States, France, 
Austria-Hungary, and Italy. Australia is usually the largest buyer 
of gunny bags, and is followed by the United States, Chile, United 
Kingdom (mainly for transshipment), China, and Java. The United 
States is by far the largest purchaser of gunny cloth, usually taking 
some two-thirds of the total export, and is followed by Argentina, 
and then by Canada and the United Kingdom. 

According to the figures of the Indian Office at London the fol- 
lowing have been the exports from India of jute and its manufac- 
tures for five-year periods and fiscal years ended March 31 : 



Periods. 


Haw jute. 


Gunny bags. 


Gunny cloth. 


Total valu?. 


1880-1884 


Cwt. 
7,500,000 
8,900,000 
10,000,000 
12,300,000 
12,700,000 
12,875,312 
14,480,407 
15,970,478 
14,191,597 
17,879,903 
14,608,363 
12,732,460 
16,203,100 
17,535,880 


Number. 
54,900,000 
77,000,000 
111,500,000 
171,200,000 
206,500,000 
201,436,286 
233,326,201 
257,683,115 
293,029,510 
300,906,317 
364,368,835 
360,880,236 
289,784,141 
311,707,646 


Yards. 

4,400,000 

15,400,000 

41,000,000 

182,000,000 

427,200,000 

575,511,587 

658,671,353 

696,067,945 

789,855,788 

769,798,640 

940,101,340 

955,300,737 

871,484,312 

1,021,816,869 


$4,051,869 
5, 284, 689 
9,386,223 
16,805,950 
26,814,782 
32, 245, 956 
40,385,601 
50, 989, 651 
59,363,930 


1885-1889 


1890-1894 


1895-1899 


1900-1904 


1904-5 


1905-6 


1906-7 


1907-8 


1908-9 


51,054,341 


1909-10 


55,467,230 
55, 135, 733 


1910-11 


1911-12 


51,930,666 


1912-13 


74,201,497 







The record shipment of raw jute was in the year 1908-9 and of 
gunny bags in 1909-10, but the high record for shipments of cloth 
was reached with over a billion yards in 1912-13. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN INDIA. 



169 



EXPORTS OF RAW JUTE, BY COUNTRIES. 

The exports of raw jute (including jute, rejections, and cuttings) 
for the last three fiscal years were taken by the following countries : 



Countries. 



United Kingdom. 

Germany 

United States 

France 

Austria-Hungary . . 

Italy 

Spain 

Russia 

Belgium 

All other countries 

Total 



Quantity 



Value. 



1911 



1912 



1913 



Tons. 

234,718 

14*9, 066 

64,714 

7*2,343 

40,303 

41,474 

16, 606 

8,384 

3,944 

5,071 



636,623 



Tons. 

345, 762 

170, 688 

99, 891 

68, 413 

49,809 

32,032 

23,206 

6, 97.1 

5,298 

8,085 



810, 155 



Tons. 

340, 586 

180, 149 

124,335 

86,291 

52,089 

42,254 

23,829 

8,776 

4,774 

13,211 



876, 294 



1911 



1912 



1913 



$18,907,775 

11,719,943 

4,995,504 

5, 782, 240 

2,939,278 

3,222,932 

1,31-6,023 

667, 877 

313,079 

389, 987 



50, 254, 638 



$31,780,740 

16, 500, 212 

7,415,936 

6,270,305 

4,300,550 

2,937,462 

2,080,777 

661,958 

489,905 

743,288 



73, 181, 133 



$35,772,565 

18,591,787 

9,199,623 

8,981,695 

5,354,830 

4,483,097 

2,533,669 

950,806 

494,001 

1,399,325 



87,761,398 



In terms of 400-pound bales the exports for the fiscal year ended 
March 31, 1913, were as follows, together with the percentage taken 
by each country : 



Countries. 



United Kingdom 

Germany 

United States... 

France 

Austria-Hungary 
Italy 



Bales. 



1,907,282 
1, 008, 834 
696,276 
483,230 
291, 698 
236,622 



Per cent. 



38.88 

20.55 

14.19 

9.85 

5.94 

4.82 



Countries. 



Spain 

Russia 

Belgium 

All other countries 

Total 



Bales. 



133,442 
49, 146 
26, 734 
73,982 



4, 907, 246 



Per cent. 



2.72 

1.00 

.54 

1.51 



100. 00 



The United States ranks after India, the United Kingdom, and 
Germany as a consumer or manufacturer of raw jute. Nearly half 
of the raw material imported into the United States is jute butts used 
for making heavy bagging for covering cotton bales, and the re- 
mainder, which is jute proper, is used for making carpet yarns and 
twines. No burlaps are manufactured in the United States, though 
the import is considerably over half a billion yards yearly. United 
States statistics show the imports of jute and of jute butts into the 
United States during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, as follows : 
Jute, 67,742 tons, valued at $6,913,590; jute butts, 57,084 tons, valued 
at $2,309,975; total, 124,826 tons, valued at $9,223,565. 

EXPORTS BY PRINCIPAL FIRMS. 



The export statistics of the Indian Government list all exports 
under the head of jute, and do not specify long jute, jute butts, and 
rejections. Such figures are, however, compiled by various trade 
authorities, but for the trade season, which is different from the fiscal 
year. The table following was published by a Calcutta jute mer- 
chant as showing the shipments of jute, rejections, and cuttings from 
the ports of Calcutta and Chittagong during the season from July 1, 



170 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



1912, to May 31, 1913, in bales of 400 pounds each, giving the names 
of the shippers and also the ports to which shipped : 



Jute. 



Rejec- 
tions. 



Cuttings. 



Total. 



Shipped by— 

Ralli Bros. 

Becker Gray & Co 

R. Steel &Co. (Ltd.) 

Stuart Dott & Co 

Ernsthausen (Ltd.) 

J. C. Duffus & Co. (Ltd.) 

D. L. Millar & Co 

George Henderson & Co 

R. Stanley & Co 

Jas. Scott & Sons (Ltd.) 

MacVicar, Smith & Co. (Ltd.). - - . 

A. Bonnand 

Petrochino Bros 

E. D. Sassoon & Co 

McLeod & Co 

The Chittagong Co. (Ltd.) 

Cox Bros. (Ltd.) 

The Naraingunge Co. (Ltd.) 

A. H. Ghuznavi & Co 

Ludlow Manufacturing Associates 

Lyall Marshall & Co 

Joy Narayan Bros 

J. R. Giridhari Lall 

Goormuck Roy Surieka 

Bird & Co 

S. M. Nagor MuU 

Nahapiet & Co 

G. M. Ram Lai Gonti 

Jas. Finlay & Co. (Ltd.) 

Sundry shippers 

Total '. 

Shipped to- 
United Kingdom- 
Dundee 

Other ports 

Germany 

France 

Austria-Hungary 

Italy 

Spain 

Other Continental countries 

American ports 

All other ports 

Total 



981,065 

389,596 

302, 235 

303,532 

272,604 

222, 675 

202, 313 

164 252 

164, 854 

111, 780 

119, 643 

115, 987 

107.220 

103,951 

101,023 

77,309 

80,073 

53,523 

71, 727 

43,209 

42,105 

37,314 

35, 889 

31,420 

26,436 

24, 549 

16. 301 

13,983 

13,648 

128, 364 



4,358,580 



,205,254 
553,316 
997,371 
403,298 
282, 782 
233,444 
128, 109 
171,164 
356, 393 
27,449 



85,411 
335 



11, 669 
4,214 

17, 941 
999 
720 



247,068 

1,679 

9,154 

124 

624 

30,234 

9,123 

10,504 

2,398 

13,504 

71 







1,609 






1,138 
6,018 


1,196 

10, 177 

5,044 


12,243 


11,429 
152 


856 

1,020 

546 


15,055 

3,774 

749 


252 


500 
2,197 


221 


1,625 











184 



7,740 



145,376 



384, 121 



28, 924 

25, 768 

788 

43,823 

1,299 

974 

674 

11,907 

31,219 



39, 113 

33,539 

9,982 

3,825 

124 

398 

2,350 

714 

290, 479 

3,597 



1,313,544 

391,610 

311,389 

303.656 

273 228 

264, 578 

215, 650 

192,697 

168 251 

126, 004 

119, 714 

115,987 

108, 829 

103, 951 

103, 357 

93,504 

85,117 

77, 195 

71,879 

59, 120 

46,899 

38,609 

35,889 

32, 172 

28,633 

26, 395 

16,301 

13, 983 

13,648 

136,288 



4, 888, 077 



1,273.291 
612, 623 

1, 008, 141 
450,946 
284.205 
234, 816 
131,133 
183, 785 
678, 091 
31, 046 



4. 358, 580 



145,376 



384, 121 



4,888,077 



Of the long jute, 4,069,591 bales are listed as being shipped from 
Calcutta and 288,989 from Chittagong; of the rejections, 94,633 from 
Calcutta and 50,743 from Chittagong; and of the cuttings, 353,262 
from Calcutta and 30,859 from Chittagong. 



JUTE INDUSTRY IN INDIA. 



171 



EXPORTS OF GUNNY SACKS BY COUNTRIES. 

The exports of gunny sacks from India for the last three fiscal 
years ended March 31, have been taken by the following countries: 



Countries. 



Australia 

United States 

Chile 

United Kingdom . . 

China 

Java 

Egypt.... 

West Indies 

New Zealand 

Straits Settlements 

East Africa 

Natal 

Indo China 

Cape Colony 

Siam 

Sandwich Islands . . 

Germany 

Turkey: 

Asiatic 

European 

Belgium 

Peru 

Mauritius 

Japan 

All other countries . 

Total 



Number. 



1911 



68 
46, 
41, 
33, 
10, 
11, 
12, 
14, 

8, 
10, 

6, 

9, 
14, 

4, 
13, 

9, 

6, 



2, 
6, 
3, 
3, 
2, 
14, 



825, 585 
224,570 
192, 720 
427,075 
210,650 
533,400 
813, 600 
002,900 
222,950 
424,627 
687,383 
252,675 
408, 555 
771,550 
077,000 
556,531 
518,500 

591,643 
445,250 
508, 600 
511,400 
741,400 
073,600 
848,072 



360,880,236 



1912 



42,698,765 

47, 728, 700 

32,332,690 

29,831,998 

14,288,300 

9, 774, 800 

9,981,575 

10,533,950 

6,853,950 

8,941,990 

5,891,872 

5,876,250 

7,490,610 

4,435,691 

3,432,518 

9,868,600 

4,790,340 

4,036,121 
2,268,700 
5,840,6(10" 
2,190,800 
2,373,200 
2,328,600 
15,993,521 



289, 784, 141 



1913 



38,145,380 

43,092,700 

36,329,900 

27,434,422 

21,180,948 

17,025,301 

13,392,700 

13,035,600 

8, 707, 050 

8,921,527 

7,580,500 

7,262,350 

8,813,332 

4,685,900 

6,140,420 

9,023,500 

6,334,150 

4,069,594 
1,058.800 
4,176,300 
3,572,500 
2,610,400 
2,129,500 
16,984,972 



311,707,646 



Value. 



1911 



$6,090,645 
2,042,199 
2,515,950 
2,386,988 

879,102 
1,118,334 
1,479,309 
1,289,830 

905, 140 
1,034,456 

552, 525 

711, 797 
1,174,021 

506, 714 
1,181,103 

483,261 

437,859 

612,227 
226, 157 
392, 193 
297, 792 
276, 717 
153,810 
1,036,523 



27,784,652 



1912 



$4, 388, 551 

2,799,201 

2,271,128 

2,219,515 

1,380,074 

1,040,652 

1,236,541 

1,125,247 

935,317 

790,008 

552, 182 

552,090 

628,371 

535,655 

328,314 

564,886 

361,911 

424,941 
237,079 
388, 649 
198, 198 
186, 659 
204,683 
1,241,706 



24,591,558 



1913 



14,513,250 

2,885,147 

2,712,699 

2,700,056 

2,389,122 

2,076,090 

1,770,910 

1,637,099 

1,260,223 

955,383 

815,422 

813,487 

754,081 

700,336 

652,503 

636,811 

574, 165 

494,523 
129,349 
387,900 
377,086 
295,347 
208,248 
1,640,274 



31,379,528 



PRINCIPAL MARKETS FOR BAGS. 

The foregoing table affords an interesting contrast with the export 
of gunny sacks from the United Kingdom. The export of gunny 
sacks from the United Kingdom for the calendar years 1911 and 
1912 amounted to 60,151,968 and 49,248,252, respectively, so it is seen 
that Calcutta supplies the world with five or six times as many gunny 
sacks as Dundee. Dundee finds its best market in Argentina, which 
requires some 10,000,000 wheat bags a year, and in which country 
India finds it difficult to compete on account of adverse freight rates 
and connections. Calcutta finds its best market for bags in Aus- 
tralia, as a rule, but for the last two years the United States has taken 
the largest number, though of a cheaper or smaller kind than 
that required in Australia, as the value taken by Australia much 
exceeds the value taken by the United States. The United States is 
undoubtedly the largest user of jute bags in the world, but the bulk 
of the bags required are made in that country from imported burlap. 
It has been estimated that three- fourths of the huge import of burlap 
into the United States is used for making bags and sacks. Most 
of the imported bags are used on the Pacific coast, which utilizes 
some 40,000,000 or more Calcutta bags a year in sacking wheat, oats, 
and barley. East of the Rockies the American manufacturers of 
bags control the bulk of the bag trade, the imports from Dundee 
'being comparatively small, and have to furnish bags of all sizes, but 
the bag requirements of the Pacific coast are mainly for one size of 
bag, which is known as the " Standard 22 by 82 Calcutta grain bag," 
and Calcutta, with its 25-cents-a-day coolies can turn out this bag 



172 



LINEN, JUTE, AND HEMP INDUSTRIES. 



in such large quantities and ship it to California and Oregon at such 
prices that American bag factories using imported dutiable burlap 
can not compete. East of the Eockies grain is usually handled in 
bulk, but on the Pacific coast most of it is exported, and the vessels 
that carry grain demand that it be sacked because of the danger of 
shifting cargo and the sweating of wheat going around the Horn. 

Next to Australasia and United States, where the bags are used 
mainly for sacking grain, India finds its best market for bags in 
Chile, where they are used for exporting nitrate. Most of those sent 
to the United Kingdom are for reexport to Argentina, Cuba (which 
takes some 10,000,000 a year of very fine and heavy sacks for ex- 
porting sugar), Brazil, etc., though Brazil itself now weaves and 
hems most of the bags required for its large crops of coffee, sugar, 
cocoa, etc. India ships bags to every county in the world, more or 
less, and Dundee is able to offer active competition practically only 
in countries where it is favored by better frsight facilities. India is 
yearly furnishing a larger share of the world's requirements of bags 
as well as burlaps. 

EXPORTS OF GUNNY CLOTH, BY COUNTRIES. 

The exports of gunny cloth from India for the last three fiscal 
years ended March 31 have been taken by the following countries : 



Countries. 


Yards. 


Value. 


1911 


1912 


1913 


1911 


1912 


1913 


United States 


664,273,202 

161,916,000 

28,930,000 

41,647,472 

24, 746, 353 

8,152,000 

2,857,000 

5,221,000 

17,557,710 


595,875,500 

131,468,500 

33,445,400 

45,618,350 

21,124,780 

10,118,000 

2,774,500 

9,097,900 

21,961,382 


663,293,316 

215,958,127 

50,251,300 

38,847,225 

22,881,758 

9,052,000 

3,389,750 

2,775,400 

15,367,993 


$18,076,345 

4,757,335 

847,074 

1,376,935 

957, 138 

248,650 

98,053 

154,356 

599,011 


$17, 197, 804 

4,490,533 

1,087,602 

1,753,830 

909,328 

354, 537 

113,114 

319,013 

853,938 


$25, 536, 718 

10,004,074 

2,225,594 

1,976,400 

1,203,793 

432, 954 


Argentina 


Canada 


United Kingdom : . 

Australasia 


Uruguay 


China ; 


191,219 


Germany 


129,185 


All other countries 


664,065 


Total 


955,300,737 


871,484,312 


1,021,816,869 


27,114,897 


27,079,695 


42,364,002 







The United States is the main customer for Calcutta burlap, and in 
the last three years took 69.54 per cent, 68.38 per cent, and 64.91 
per cent, respectively, of the total amount exported. As previously 
noted, the larger portion of this is for making up into bags, but In- 
dian burlap is used in the United States for many other purposes, 
one of the main uses being to wrap cloth, yarn, etc., when the lat- 
ter are shipped in bales from the mill to the American consumer or 
are exported. Dundee burlaps are considered to be more carefully 
made and usually bring a higher price on the American market than 
Indian. Next to the United States, India finds its best market for 
burlaps in Argentina and Canada. 

In addition to gunny sacks and gunny cloth Calcutta ships a small 
amount of jute rope and twine and a trifle of jute yarn, but the total 
is inconsiderable. 

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 1913, the total exports from 
India of jute gunny bags, gunny cloth, rope, twine, and yarn were 
valued at $74,201,497, which is the highest figure ever reached. 

O 



